Strike continues as FG and varsity unions Meeting ends in deadlock,FG makes appeal to union to suspend Strike.

The Federal Government has appealed to the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU) to suspend its ongoing strike, which entered the fifth day on Friday.

The government made the appeal after a meeting with members of the Joint Action Committee of NASU) and SSANU) on Thursday at the Federal Ministry of Education. 

Administrative work in Federal Universities across the country were on Monday shut by SSANU and NASU following an indefinite strike by the two unions to protest failure of the government to pay them four months of their salaries that were withheld during the 2022 strike by university workers.

President Bola Tinubu gave approval for the payment of 50 per cent of the four.

On Monday, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha assured the striking university workers that the payment was being processed by the Minister of Finance and Coordinating Minister of the Economy, Wale Edun. 

But the General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi insisted that the nationwide strike would continue until their members start receiving alerts. 

Addressing Journalists after the meeting in Abuja on Thursday, the former Minister of State for Education, Dr. Yusuf Sununu, who was mandated by the new Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa to chair the meeting, explained that efforts were ongoing to resolve the issues raised by the unions.

He said the government was taking a holistic approach to the matter and discussions have reached an advanced stage to meet their demands.

Dr. Sununu gave assurances that the government was committed to a stable educational system and finding a lasting solution to the lingering crisis.

He said: “We have just had a meeting under the directive of the Minister of Education, Who along the line joined us virtually, to address the ongoing strike commenced by the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU.

“We have reviewed the reasons for the strike and we briefed them on the efforts of the Federation Ministry of Education to get the issues resolved, where we are now and we holistically looked at it, then added other issues that are likely to erupt so that the Ministry can take a holistic approach on all issues.

“At the end of the meeting, we all agreed that we have reached the advanced stage of addressing the situation and we will continue to work together for the strike to be brought to an end as soon as possible.

“We are all happy with where we have reached in our discussion. We have also pleaded with them that in the last one year, they gave us their maximum cooperation in ensuring that we have stability in our academic sessions.”

Sununu implored members of the unions to extend the same goodwill to the incoming Ministers that would join the Ministry as soon as possible, in ensuring that the renewed hope of the President for every child to be given qualitative education, armed with skills and competencies is achieved.

The Chairman, Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU, Comrade Hassan Makolo, however, said the leadership of the unions would call off the strike action when members confirmed they had received alerts.

He said the meeting was productive and expressed the belief that the assurances by the government delegation were fulfilled.

Makolo said: “We had a frank discussion on the issues at stake and as we always say the JAC of NASU and SSANU is not strike monger. Some issues always lead to a strike.

“Apart from the current strike, we have been able to discuss a number of issues that could crop up tomorrow and you say JAC again. For the issues that members of JAC are on strike, we have come to an understanding that within some hours, if all we discussed here goes well, the strike will be called off.

“What do we mean by ‘go well’? By the time our members begin to tell us they have received alerts, then we have come to the end of the struggle in our hands. I want to believe that we do not need to come back here to agitate for the same issue.”