Buhari’s administration will not pay university lecturers for the period they did not work, the federal government has said.
The lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU have been on strike since February this year, and have vowed not to return to class over unpaid allowances and entitlements by the federal government.
The meeting between ASUU and the government ended in a deadlock on Tuesday and the hope of students returning back to the campuses for academic activities has been further dimmed.
The president of ASUU Emmanuel Osodeke after the meeting with the government delegation said there’s not enough commitment on the part of the Buhari administration to end the crisis.
The federal government “did not bring anything new to the negotiation table.
“They (Nimi Briggs committee) came with nothing. What they came with is from the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission which does not represent anything,” Osodeke said.
Speaking on the government’s efforts to resolve the issue, the Minister of Education Adamu Adamu said other issues have been resolved with the lecturers except that President Muhammadu Buhari has insisted that the lecturers will not be paid for the period they did not work.
Adamu spoke during the 47th session of the State House Ministerial Media Briefing organized by the Presidential Communications Team at the Aso Rock Villa, Abu
According to him, “All contentious issues between the government and ASUU had been settled except the quest for members’ salaries for the period of the strike to be paid, a demand that Buhari has flatly rejected.
He said ASUU ignored the government’s warning them not to go on strike, adding that the administration has invested huge funds in the sector through its agencies such as TETFUND and UBEC.
He said the lecturers should not expect to go without punishment for their actions.
The minister however disclosed that five of the six striking university-based unions will likely return to work within the next one week.
