Strike: Hope rises as Reps broker truce between FG, ASUU

Jonas Ezieke, Abuja

The House of Representatives has waded into the ongoing industrial action between the Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria which commenced on February 14, 2022 and had lingered for seven months since its commencement and remain unabated.

Speaker of the lower chamber of the National Assembly Hon.Femi Gbajabiamila and principal officers brokered the truce meeting of the striking university workers with the Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of State for Education Hon. Goodluck Nana Opia as the parliament urged all the parties to shift grounds for a quick and amicable resolution of the crisis in the interests of the nation.

He called on both the unvisersity lecturers and the Federal Government delagation to endeavour to close permenently this lingering strike by the University teachers  describing it as the dark chapter in our nation’s history

The House leadership said that the parliament would do what is within its powers constitutionally ensure a quick resolution of the issue in a few days to come and enjoined the parties to key into the ongoing negotiations to end it.

Speaking on it, President of ASUU Prof.Emmanuel Osodeke said that the prolonged strike by lectures in the universities is a sysmptom of a protracted problem in the  nation’s education sector.

He accused the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu and other top officials of the  Federal Ministry of Education of playing non-challant attitude to the lecturers in the ongoing crisis

He said: “We ‘ve never been called by the Ministry of Education for a formal meeting. It is only the Ministry of Labour that called for such meetings twice”

“For issue of collective bargaining, there is need for formal meetings. In other climes you don’t use punitive measures to compel people to go to work”.

“We told the Committee of Pro-Chancellors our position. If the courts force lecturers to teach what will they teach the students?”

The erudite scholar who was flanked by other top officials of the university based union therefore urged the House to prevail on the Federal Government to rescind its decision to use the courts to compel the lecturers to go to work.

In his own remark, the Minister of State for Education Mr Goodluck Nana Opiah said that the Minister of Education Mallam Adamu Adamu, the Permenent Secretary Arc Sonny Echono and other stakeholders in the sector had been worried over the prolonged strike.

He added that the education stakeholders had deployed all manner of thinking and consultation to resolve the crisis but yet the resolution is stiill pending.

He informed the House that President Muhammadu Buhari had a week ago met with some Pro-Chancellors of these universities on the crisis but there is still ongoing consultation by him on it

The House leadership, the lecturers and the government officials immediately resolved into a closed door parley and agreed to smotheen all the grey areas on the strike while the speaker enjoined all the parties to endeavour to shift grounds on their demand.