STRIKE CONTINUES AS FG, NON-ACADEMIC UNIONS MEETING ENDS IN DEADLOCK

The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, met with the leadership of the striking unions on Wednesday in Abuja to discuss ending the warning strike.

The unions include Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, NASU, and National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT.

Mamman told newsmen after the meeting that the Federal Government would continue to dialogue with the unions to forestall an escalation.

Pqconnect reports that the unions commenced a seven-day nationwide strike on Monday to protest the refusal of the Federal Government to release their four-month salaries withheld in 2021 because they embarked on a strike.

“It is our expectation that it will not go beyond what it is. We have a good understanding with the unions to ensure stability in our tertiary institutions.

“We will do everything possible to maintain confidence in the unions so that the issue of the strike can be resolved,” he said.

The General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi, while commending the openness of the government in ending the strike, insisted that the strike will continue until a favourable response from the government is received.

“We have been duly briefed by the government team led by the Minister of Education on the efforts that the government is making in respect of our demands.

“We have said that since this is a warning strike, these efforts should continue and hopefully, before the end of the warning strike, something reasonable and tangible will come from the government.

“We appreciate their openness but this struggle will continue [until] as soon as we receive a positive response from the higher authorities.

“We assure the Nigerian public that the strike will be reviewed appropriately, but, for now, the strike continues while the government continues with efforts to get the desired results so that the universities will come back on stage,” he said.

Corroborating this, the President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, reiterated the decision of other unions, saying that the parties would further consult with their principals and thereafter would come back and brief the minister.