Monday, December 9, 2013

ASUU Strike: NLC makes fresh intervention, writes presidency

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC)has begun another move to intervene
in the impasse between the Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU)and the Federal Government.
The Acting General Secretary of the congress, Chris Uyot, told the
News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja that the union had written a
letter to the Presidency.
"The leadership of NLC has written a letter to the Presidency seeking
leave to intervene in the crisis which is now in its sixth month.
"We have sent a letter to the presidency today, December 9. We want to
intervene in this matter.
"The turn of events is causing a lot of disaffection which can easily
be resolved, that is if the government is willing to talk about it,"
Uyot said.
Mr. Uyot said that the NLC President, Abdulwahed Omar, met with the
leadership of ASUU in Abuja as a preliminary step to articulate their
position before meeting with the presidency when invited.
The NLC and the Trade Union Congress led the ASUU team to the
Presidential Villa onNovember 4 in a 13- hour closed-door meeting with
the president.
Part of the agreement reached at the meeting was the increased funding
to universities beginning from a N200 billion intervention fund in
2013. ASUU wants the money released to the universities within two
weeks while the federal government through a presidential aide, Doyin
Okupe, presented evidence that the process of making the payment to
the universities had begun through the Central Bank.
The lecturers also want a non-victimisation clause included in the
final agreement with the president; as well as the commencement of
re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement in 2014, as discussed with the
president.
However, the federal government, through the Education Minister,
Nyesom Wike, on November 28 gave ASUU a week ultimatum to call off the
strike; else there would be mass sack of the non-complying lecturers.
Though the ultimatum was to end on December 4, the National
Universities Commission boss, Julius Okojie, announced its extension
to December 9.
(NAN)

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