ASUU STRIKE; 7 ISSUES AGREED ON, 2 REMAINING *Parties yet to agree on two issues *Strike may be called off next week, says Suswam The meeting to resolve the crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government led by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim, could not be concluded on friday. Benue State Governor, Gabriel Suswam was drafted by government to Head the implementation of Needs Assessment Report on Nigerian Universities. Suswam, who spoke with journalists last night in Abuja after about six hours meeting, disclosed that there were still pending issues to be resolved next week before the ASUU strike could be called off. According to him, there are still two knotty issues to be resolved including earned allowance and funding of university education in view of the infrastructuraldeficit in the university system. Apart from the two unresolved issues, he saidthat all other issues raised by ASUU have been agreed upon by the two sides. While the SGF would meet withASUU leadership on Monday towards resolving the issue of earned allowance, he said that he would lead his committee on Implementation of Needs Assessment to meet with ASUU on Thursday to finalize issues on funding. He was optimistic that all the two pending issues would be resolved next week in order for ASUU to call off the strike. Assuring that his Committee would leave no stone unturned to ensure that there was sustained funding for Nigerian universities, he lamentedthe present rot in the Nigerian Universities. Speaking earlier in his opening remark at the meeting, Senator Anyim reiterated the determination of the Federal Government to resolve the crisis so that the lecturers can return to classroom. He said: “Our meeting today is blessed with injection of new hands, new faces and new minds. It is expected that our meeting today will be fruitful because we would have more hands helping us to resolve what is outstanding”. “You might alsorecalled that the implementation committee of Needs Assessment Report to Nigerian Universities was just inaugurated. The Chairman of that Committee is Governor Gabriel Suswam. After the inauguration of that committee, we appealed to him to join us in this meeting that is followingsoon after. “On this note, I am convinced that their desire to see this matter resolved is simply because of their commitment to national progress,” he stated.
Posted on: Sat, 27 Jul 2013 09:50:06 +0000
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