The President Muhammadu Buhari Federal Government, has on Friday, offered the Leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, N65 billion, for Earned Academic Allowance and revitalisation, .
The Federal Government also agreed to pay the striking Lecturers through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System, until ASUU’s University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, is ready for usage.
These are some of the agreements reached at the resumed meeting between the Leadership of ASUU and the Federal Government team, today.
At the end of the 7-hour meeting, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, told Reporters that the Accountant-General of the Federation has offered to release N40 billion, or in the alternative, N35 billion, to be shared by all the registered Trade Unions in the Universities, after providing necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.
“The FG reiterated that her offer of N40 billion or 35 billion, whichever is accepted by ASUU, was for all the Universities unions: ASUU had proposed that N40 billion be paid immediately for all unions”, the Minister said.
He added that all Vice Chancellors are to submit details of the EAA/EA to the National Universities Commission, NUC, on or before November 30.
Speaking on the issue of withheld salaries, Ngige said that the Federal Ministry of Labour and Federal Ministry of Education will review the issue of “no work, no pay”, as stipulated in Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act Cap T8 Laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, with a view to getting approval for the withheld salaries to be paid.
More news later…