THE Federal Government may have reopened
dialogue with the leadership of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), in a bid to
end the over two months old strike.
This came just as the National Association of
Nigerians Students (NANS) urged both
government and ASUU to return back to the
negotiation table, with each party willing to
shift ground from their previous positions.
Indications to the new development with
ASUU emerged on Monday, when journalists
were called to cover the meeting, which was
eventually postponed till next week, with a
ministry official saying this was to allow the
supervising Minister of Education, Mr
Nyesom Wike, get proper briefing on the
current standpoint of the issues involved.
Wike was joined by the Minister of Labour
and Productivity, Chief Emeka Wogu, for the
meeting scheduled for 12 noon at the Federal
Ministry of Education conference room
before it was called off.
Nigerian Tribune gathered that the
resumption of talks followed the exit of the
former Minister of Education, Professor
Ruqayyatu Ahmed Rufa’i, who was dropped
last week by President Goodluck Jonathan
alongside eight other ministers.
The negotiation between the government
and leadership of ASUU broke down over
disagreement on payment of academic
earned allowance to union members.
Meanwhile, the Nigerian students, under the
auspices of NANS, have called on both the
Federal Government and ASUU to return back
to the negotiation table, in order to resolve
their differences in good faith.
Acting Senate president of NANS, John
Shima, while addressing newsmen in Abuja,
lauded the sack of Professor Rufa’i and other
ministers, as part of the initiatives of
President Jonathan to retool the
government.
“ASUU and Federal Government should go
back to the negotiating table. Even after
wars, issues are resolved at the roundtable.
Nigerian students have been idle for 78 days.
“Nigerian students are tired of sitting at
home. Both parties are urged to shift ground
to ensure quick resolution of the crisis.
“We lost almost three years of study time in
the last 10 years due to strikes; the lost time
being enough to graduate a student in
Germany,” Shima said.
Meanwhile, Benue State governor, Mr Gabriel
Suswam, has vowed to get tough on striking
lecturers of Benue State University, Makurdi,
by evoking “no work, no pay” policy if they
refuse to call off what he described as their
“sympathy strike,” which had paralysed
academic activities in the state.
Suswam said state-owned universities like
that of Benue had no reason whatsoever to
remain on strike, since it was federal
universities and not states that were earlier
involved in the negotiation with the Federal
Government.
Suswam explained that Benue State
University had been benefiting fully from the
earned allowance for which the Federal
Government voted N30 billion and had no
cause to be complaining.
The governor, while addressing communicant
members of the Reformed Church of Christ in
Nigeria, at Achusa village, Makurdi, at the
weekend, decried the extent to which the
strike had gone and admonished the
authorities of the institution to expedite
action towards suspending the protracted
strike for students to resume in the next one
week.
He condemned the level of dilapidated
infrastructure in most state-owned
universities, including Benue State
University, but applauded the Federal
Government for the release of N100 billion to
assuage the problem.
Benue State University, the governor said,
got N950 million for the execution of six
projects within the institution, while he
expressed optimism that the funds would be
judiciously used for the growth of the
university

Source : www.tribune.com.ng/news2013/index.php/en/news/item/21754-fg-reopens-talks-with-ASUU-benue-gov-v