…As FG, ASUU meet again October 20
As the Federal Government’s meeting with the Academic Staff Union of the University (ASUU) towards resolving the lingering strike embarked upon by ASUU ended in deadlock their last meeting on Thursday, another meeting has been fixed for October 20, 2020.
ASUU has refused to sign the resolutions put up by the government team at the end of an eight-hour long meeting between both parties.
The leadership of ASUU has insisted it will take the resolutions to its members and get their go ahead to either append its signature or decline.
The meeting is to reconvene next Wednesday when ASUU would have gotten the direction of its members on the conclusion at the Thursday meeting.
Among issues discussed at the resumed negotiation table are the IPPIS, UTAS, Visitation Panels to Universities, payment of Earned Academic Allowance, funding for revitalisation of public universities, Salary shortfalls and withheld salaries.
While government said it was carrying out a technical test on ASUU’s developed accounting system, it appealed to the union to allow its members enrol on the IPPIS and promised to migrate them to UTAS once all needed tests may have been completed, but ASUU declined
Major Highlights of FG, ASUU Thursday meeting:
“Meeting adjourned to October 21.
“On funding for revitalisation of public universities, FG offer of N20 Billion payable by the end of January 2021.
“On demand by ASUU for the payment of the Earned Allowance due from 2019, totalling N40 Billion, the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) committed to release N30 billion on or before November 6, 2020.
“The remaining N10 billion would be spread equally over the two tranches to be paid in May 2021 and February 2022 respectively.
“On IPPIS, ASUU has met its timeline regarding the first stage of the initial demonstration of the efficacy of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) to government as this was done on Wednesday, October 14, 2020. FG agreed that if UTAS passes all the different stages of the integrity test which would involve National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA) and the Office of the National Security Advisers (NSA) and after ascertaining its efficacy; it would be adopted for the payment of the University staff.
“The conciliatory meeting is to reconvene by October 21 by 3.00 p.m. after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting for ASUU to report back on the decision of her NEC, in order to facilitate the calling off their strike.”
