The proposed meeting between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government, initially scheduled for Monday, has been postponed to August 28.
This development comes after ASUU threatened to embark on a nationwide strike over the government’s failure to honor the 2009 renegotiated agreement.
ASUU’s demands include improvements in university workers’ welfare, university funding, and halting the proliferation of universities across the country. In response, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, acknowledged that most of the issues date back to 1981 but assured that the government is addressing them.
The Minister mentioned that the issue of exit from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System has been resolved by the President, but bureaucracy has caused a delay in implementation. He appealed to ASUU to be considerate and open-minded in their approach to negotiations.
The postponement of the meeting has raised concerns about the potential strike, which could impact university education in Nigeria. The Federal Government and ASUU are expected to discuss and resolve the issues at the rescheduled meeting on August 28.