WE ARE READY TO CALL OFF SRIKE.......ASUU

The ongoing strike by the Academics Staff Union of Universities, ASUU that seems to have no end in sight has taken another dimension. It seems ASUU has hearken to the voice of Nigerians to shift ground alongside the federal Government to enable students go back to school. However, ASUU is awaiting the Federal Government to sign the new agreement to release the #140billion for it to call off the strike.

Our Source disclosed that the Federal Government has agreed to be spending the sum of N200bn annually for the next four years in the quest to raise the standard of our varsity education to the world class standard. This is in addition to the N100 billion dedicated and already made available for 2013.

The government has also increased to N40 billion as a first installment, funds for the payment of earned allowances to the striking lecturers, an improvement from the N30 billion previously released.
This information is contained in an internal Federal University of Otuoke statement by Professor Bolaji Aluko, its Vice-Chancellor, seen on Wednesday night by Zodiac Int’l.

On the earned allowances, he explained, “Government will top it up with further releases once universities are through with the disbursement of this new figure of N40 billion, so Vice-Chancellors are urged to expedite this disbursement within the shortest possible time using guiding templates that have been sent by the CVC,” the circular said.

Professor Aluko said the development followed meetings on September 19 and Oct 11 of representatives of the Association of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities, led by CVC Chairman, Prof. Hamisu of ATBU and ASUU Representatives led by its President, Dr. N. Fagge with the Vice-President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Arc. Namadi. Sambo, Minister of Education Barr. N. Wike and others.

Of great interest to stakeholders, Vice-President Sambo, appealing to ASUU to call off the strike, apologized for the “take-it-or-leave-it”; comments credited to the Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala at the onset of the strike. The Minister did not seem to have been involved in either meeting, perhaps as the government’s way of soothing the feelings of the university teachers.

Among other agreement reached, Prof. Aluko further stated that a signed document will soon be issued to itemize the full issues on which the consensus he had outlined here, as brokered by AVCNU, was reached.

With this level of agreement, it is expected that the Nigeria will soon give a sigh of relief as ASUU is expected to call-off its strike any moment from now.