The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (JAC), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have said that the Federal Government did not reach a strong agreement with them that can lead to calling off the industrial actions.
The national leaders of ASUU and JAC of SSANU and NASU, Professsor Emmanuel Osodeke and Mohammed Ibrahim, respectively told journalists that the Federal Government and all stakeholders in the education sector and religious leaders had a meeting with the four unions but no strong agreements were reached. On the contrary, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, was quoted in a report saying they had a cordial and fruitful discussion; and looked at the issues dispassionately and reached some agreements, to the satisfaction of everybody in attendance, But Osodeke said Ngige’s claim after the meeting that the unions would call off the ongoing strike this week was a political statement.
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Meanwhile, the National Youth Service Corps, Joint Admissions and Matriculations Board, and universities will reportedly meet later to harmonise timetable and rollout calendar for the mobilisation of graduates for the mandatory National Youth Service and 2022 admissions following the disruption in the academic calendar as a result of the ongoing industrial actions.
Recall that all the university unions in the country are presently on strike. ASUU started its strike on February 14, 2022 and JAC commenced its own on April 14, 2022. The unions embarked on industrial actions while demanding improved welfare packages, better working conditions and implementation of various labour agreements signed with the Federal Government between 2009 and 2020.