The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, says it will not be involved in any round of renegotiation with the Federal Government over the 2009 agreement it signed with the latter.
ASUU’s reaction, came against the backdrop of an announcement by the Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, reconstituting a committee to re-nogiate with the agreement signed with the union over nearly 14 years ago.
The union is currently on a one-month warning strike to press it’s demand for the implementation of the agreement.
However, ASUU stated that it would not participate in any further talk with the federal government, noting that it had since rounded off a negotiation with the government over its demands.
President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who spoke, said the Federal Government’s statement that it had reconstituted a seven -member committee to renegotiate the 2009 demands, vowed that his group would not be a party to it.
Osodeke told reporters on Thursday that ASUU was waiting for the government to implement its demands to enable lecturers return to the classrooms.
His words, “We don’t know what they (federal government) are talking about.We have nothing to negotiate with the government. As far as we are concerned, we have concluded negotiations with the government.”
The Minister of Labour and Employment and former governor of Anambra State, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, had earlier said that the Federal Government had no funds to implement the agreement reached with ASUU.
But the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu, who reconstituted the renegotiation team, explained that the action was to “speedily bring to a conclusion, all outstanding issues in the 2009 agreement to achieve the desired industrial peace on our campuses.”
The chairman and members of the reconstituted 2009 FGN/University-Based Unions Agreements Re-negotiation Team has Prof. Emeritus Nimi Briggs-(Pro-Chancellor, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo), as chairman; Lawrence Patrick Ngbale-(Pro-Chancellor, Federal University,Wukari,as member representing North East and
Prof. Funmi Togunu-Bickersteth-(Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Birnin Kebbi as member , representing South West.
Other are Sen. Chris Adighije- (Pro-Chancellor, Federal University. Lokoja as member, representing southeast; Prof. Olu Obafemi -(Pro-Chancellor, Federal University of Technology, Minna, member, representing North-Central;
Prof. Zubairu Iliyasu-(Pro-Chancellor, Kano State University of Science & Technology as a member, representing North West and Barr. Matthew Seiyefa, (Pro-Chancellor, Niger Delta University, Wilberforce Island as a member, representing South-South.
The committee would be inaugurated by Adamu on Monday, March 7,2022, in Abuja.
