ASUU May Call Off Strike Next Wednesday As An Agreement Has Been Reached With FG

From all indications the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may call of its strike next Wednesday as there has been a consensus with the Federal Government to release N30bn earned academic allowance to the university lecturers.

The Thursday night meeting between officials of the government and the leadership of the union, ended late after conclusion was reached.

The communiqué at the end of the meeting, while reacting to the demand by ASUU for the payment of the two tranches which cumulated to 40 Billion Naira that has become over-due since November, 2019, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) committed to release N30 billion on or before 6th November, 2020.

The distribution of the remaining 10 billion would be dished out equally over the two tranches to be paid in May 2021 and February 2022 respectively.

They offered N20 Billion payable by the end of January 2021 and ASUU said they would take the offer to its members for consideration and give the government’s feedback by Wednesday 21st October, 2020.

The Minister of Education will work with Minister of Finance and National Planning on its earlier memo to President Muhammadu Buhari.

They are working together to create sources of alternative funding for revitalization to activate the process of an additional funding of University system.

The meeting was agreed to be revisited next Wednesday.

According to the communique:

“This is with a view to reactivating the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of 2013 as agreed in the Memorandum of Action (MoA) of 2019,” it stated.

As regard the integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), ASUU has concluded the first stage of the previous demonstration of the success of University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to Government, On Wednesday,14th October, 2020

The communique reads further,

“The Meeting also agreed that if UTAS passes all the different stages of the integrity test which would involve National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA)and the Office of the National Security Advisers (NSA) and after ascertaining its efficacy; it would be adopted for the payment of the University staff.

“Meanwhile the meeting could not agree on how payment would be done for ASUU members during the transitional period of UTAS tests as the Government side again appealed to ASUU to enroll on IPPIS platform in view of the Presidential directive that all Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN) employees should be paid via IPPIS. They can thereafter be migrated to UTAS whenever certified digitally efficient and effective with accompanying security coverage. The ASUU maintained that given ASUU’s invention of UTAS, it should be exempted from IPPIS in the transition period.”