The meeting between the Federal Government delegation and executive members of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has been adjourned to Wednesday next week, following disagreements over the salary payment platform.
Although the Federal Government agreed to fulfill its financial obligations to ASUU members, particularly the payment of outstanding salaries and earned academic allowances, the negotiations got stuck as the ASUU disagrees on the mode of payment.
The government side, led by Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, appealed to the ASUU to enroll on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, IPPIS, platform in the meantime, and migrate back to their own created University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, after its efficacy had been proven through the necessary integrity tests, but the ASUU refused, insisting on being exempted from the IPPIS.
The UTAS is expected to pass through three integrity tests, with the first one completed on Wednesday.
The ASUU President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, appealed to the government to treat the matter of university lecturers’ welfare as a national emergency, as the education sector needs urgent intervention.
Meanwhile, the Minister said the government has pledged to pay the sum of N40 billion, being the pending Earned Academic Allowance, EAA, of university lecturers.
Ngige explained that out of that amount, N30 billion would be paid on or before November 6, while the remaining N10 billion would be spread equally over two tranches to be paid in May 2021 and February 2022.
According to Ngige, the government’s commitment to pay was in response to “the demand by the ASUU for the payment of two tranches of the EAA which cumulate to N40 billion that has become overdue since November 2019.”
The negotiation between the Federal Government and the ASUU is expected to continue on Wednesday, October 21, to enable the leadership to consult their organs on some conclusions reached for possible suspension of the ongoing strike.
