The Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) have agreed to resume talks next week to resolve the ongoing strike by university teachers.
On November 5, 2018, lecturers resumed strike over demands for improved funding of public universities based on agreements reached with the Federal Government in 2009.
Some of the demands by the union are that the Federal Government should nominate another chairman of the government renegotiating team of the 2009 ASUU/Federal Government Agreement to replace Dr. Wale Babalakin.
Other issues bothering the union are non-payment of Earned allowance, funding of revitalization of the Nigerian universities, implementation of needs assessment report, poor funding of state universities, among others.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, while addressing newsmen in Abuja on Thursday, November 15, 2018, said that the closed-door meeting with the union is fruitful. He said:
“We will resume discussions by next week.’’
The ASUU President, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, also confirmed that the meeting would continue next week. He said:
“We have just started the discussion, we have really not gone too far, so what we have done today was to open the issues. By tomorrow we should meet and decide when we reschedule the meeting.
” This means that the strike still continues.”
