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•Defends discriminatory Unity Schools cut-off marks

•Labour Ministry tackles NANS on ASUU strike

•As FUTA lecturers join ASUU strike

By Dayo Johnson, Victor Ahuma-Young & Johnbosco Agbakwuru, ABUJA

THE Federal Government, yesterday, said it was looking for the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, for negotiation and was attending to its demands before the union declared a one-month warning strike.

The Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, who expressed surprise at the industrial action embarked upon by the university teachers, denied that he had been shunning meetings with the union.

Fielding questions from State House correspondents at the end of the virtual Federal Executive Council, FEC, meeting, presided over by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo at the Council Chambers, Presidential Villa, Abuja, the Minister said he had been the one summoning meetings with ASUU in the effort to resolve contentious issues.

The leadership of ASUU had declared a one-month warning strike, on Monday, over unresolved demands, which they claimed the federal government was reluctant to meet.

However, the minister said if, after several negotiations between ASUU and the government, an agreement was still not reached; it is no longer the fault of the government.

There are issues to be addressed

Responding to what the government is doing to resolve the face-off with ASUU, he said: “ASUU, unfortunately,  have gone on strike and I am looking for them because all the issues are being addressed. The last thing that happened was that our committee looked at their demands but there are renegotiations going on.

“They submitted a draft agreement which the ministry is looking at. A committee is looking at it. Immediately it finishes, the government is meant to announce what it has accepted. Then suddenly, I heard them going on strike. We want a peaceful resolution.

“The Federal Government is ready to meet them on all issues they have raised and if there are so many meetings and the gap is not closing, then I think it’s not the fault of the government.”

Asked what should be the solution, he said: “There is a solution to this. The negotiations are the solution and that is why I have said that I am surprised that ASUU has gone on strike.”

On whether the government can reach an agreement with ASUU before the end of the 30-day strike, he said: “I wouldn’t know. I can’t give you time. I am ready to reach an agreement with ASUU now but since I am not the only one, I can’t give you time. But certainly, we are going to reach an agreement very soon.”

Debunking allegations that he does not attend meetings with ASUU, Adamu stated: “ASUU will never say that. I always call the meetings myself. The meetings I didn’t attend were those that happened when I was in hospital in Germany.”

The minister also defended the discriminatory cut-off marks for southern and northern prospective Common Entrance admission candidates for Unity Schools, saying that it is in line with the Federal Character principle.

Also Read:

• Labour Ministry tackles NANS on ASUU strike
• Varsity students decry ASUU strike, call for truce

In some states, the cut-off mark to gain admission into Unity Schools (Federal Government Colleges) is about 130 scores and in some 120 scores, while in some of the northern states, it is as low as between 10 scores and 20 scores.

He said the policy would remain until such a time it is no longer necessary, saying: “I have nothing to say on that. I am not aware of any difference unless it is meant to satisfy the requirements of Federal Character. I think Federal Character is required for the nation and it is accepted. There is nothing we can do about that. There would come a time when it would not be necessary.”

The Minister had earlier said that he presented a memo to the FEC which was approved.

“Today, the memo we presented from the Ministry of Education is a printing contract by NECO for the senior school certificate examination and the beneficiaries are nine contractors and the amount is N4,965,986,573.89.

“And it will be completed in eight weeks. And it is for the printing of sensitive, non-sensitive equipment and other ancillary equipment for the examination.”

Labour Ministry tackles NANS on ASUU strike

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Labour and Employment has faulted the National Association of Nigeria Students, NANS, for blaming the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, for the ongoing four-week strike by ASUU, saying the students’ body is ignorant of the facts.

Reacting to a statement credited to NANS’ President, Sunday Asefon, Deputy Director, Press and Public Relations in the Ministry, Charles Akpan, said yesterday that the NANS’ statement threatening to mobilise students to disrupt the activities of the Ministry was inflammatory and misguided.

Akpan said: “Though neither the Ministry nor its officials who since November 2015 have successfully conciliated 1786 trade disputes, would wish to join issues with students who certainly do not have enough information about the commitment of the  Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige to the return of stability and excellence to the universities, indeed his untiring efforts to enthrone a  peaceful national industrial milieu, it is imperative we make salient clarifications on the misinformation and misrepresentation on what has become an unending ritual of a strike by ASUU vis-a-vis the ongoing action.

“The reason is to carry along, all genuinely concerned Nigerian students and parents on the commitment of the Buhari administration to resolve age-long challenges besetting the university system as well as apprise them of the steps being taken by the Minister of Labour and Employment in the discharge of his responsibilities in this wise.

“First is to note that university lecturers who operate under a union of workers, ASUU affiliated to the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC are employees of the universities being overseen on behalf of the Federal Government by the National Universities Commission, a  parastatal under the Ministry of Education.

“The Federal Ministry of Education being in charge of everything Education is hence the employers of all workers in the education sector including the academic and non-academic staff of federal universities.  The Ministry of Labour for clarity is the conciliator of disputes between workers and their employers in various Ministries, in this case, ASUU and the Ministry of Education.

“It is thus completely false that the Minister of Labour and Employment has not paid attention to monitoring the implementation of the December 2020 ASUU/ FG Memorandum of Action. Apart from the Federal Ministry of Education, other ministries, departments and agencies involved in the agreement include the National Universities Commission, Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget & National Planning, and Budget office of the Federation, Office of the Accountant General of the Federation and National Information Technology Development Agency, NITDA. Though not assigned to it in the Memorandum of Action, MOA, the Minister of Labour and Employment has been monitoring the implementation of the MOA to ensure compliance.

“It should be noted also that until the Minister left for the African Regional Labour Centre Governing Council, 1st Post COVID-19 physical meeting in Botswana on 14th February 2022, the Ministry never received any official communication from ASUU on any impending strike as required by Labour Laws. Further enquiries at the Ministry’s Labour Desk in the Federal Ministry of Education in case ASUU chose to drop the notice there also revealed none. Only ASUU knows the reasons it is in regular breach of this laid down procedure for embarking on strike.

“Though not our mandate, the Minister of Labour has been pushing all affected MDAs to discharge their own side of the Agreement. For instance, though not explicitly written in the Agreement rather a “gentleman understanding,” the Minister to show good faith, wrote a passionate letter to the President to approve on compassionate ground, the payment of eight months salaries of ASUU members withheld for the period they were at home, refusing to teach the students either physically or virtually as was done in almost all private universities. The money was later paid in tranches of three months or two months plus December 2020. This is notwithstanding that ASUU performed no academic activities in that month of December.

N40bn Earned Allowances paid in 2021

“The N40billion Earned Allowances was paid in February/March 2021. The N30bilion Revitalization that suffered delay was paid in October with another N22.72billion mainstreamed into the 2021 budget also paid November 2021. So in all,  a total of N92.72billion was paid as per the December 2020 Agreement apart from the withheld salaries running into hundreds of Billions for periods, not at work, that is,  No Work no pay as contained in Section 43 of the Trade Dispute Act.

“The truth is that any strike by university teachers also affects Ngige and his children the same way it affects ordinary Nigerians. During the 2020 strike, the Minister doubled as a concerned parent and Federal Government official, having three of his biological children in three Medical schools in different public universities in  Awka, Lagos and Abuja UNIABUJA.

This doesn’t include the numerous fatherless and indigent students from all parts of the country that he is catering for under his Foundation’s Scholarship programme. It defies logic that Ngige as Minister whose children and wards are in public schools would sleep comfortably as university teachers shut down classes.”

FUTA lecturers join ASUU strike

Meanwhile, the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA of ASUU, yesterday, officially joined the ongoing strike called by its national body.

The Chairman of the chapter, Prof. Yinka Awopetu, told newsmen in Akure after the congress of the union domesticated the decision of the national body that directed all academic staff of universities to withdraw their services immediately.

Awopetu said: “The national body of ASUU declares strikes and ends strikes but each branch must come back home and domesticate it and that is what we have just done today, so from today in FUTA, the strike has fully commenced.

“What exactly is becoming too much? The strike was suspended in December 2020 because of such cries by the parents and yet the federal government did not do anything and they are now saying it is too much.

“They should face the federal government and urge it to do the needful. Everything promised has not been fulfilled, while some of them are fulfilled partially, some were not even touched at all. So I don’t know what they mean by it is too much.

“Our demands, that the Federal Government should renegotiate our 2009 Agreement, sign it and implement it. 

“That the Federal Government should ensure that university autonomy does not fall and universities should be revitalized to make us do more and make the students study well and our allowances should be paid. These are the things we have been saying all along.”  

Vanguard News Nigeria