ASUU strike: FG’s negotiating panel reveals how agreement can be reached with union

The team set up by the federal government to negotiate with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has said dialogue is the most effective way of resolving the lingering dispute between the union and the government.

University lecturers across the country are currently on strike, to protest the alleged refusal of the government to meet their demands.

While declaring the strike, the national president of ASUU, Abiodun Ogunyemi, had said the union took the decision due to the poor funding of universities in the country, failure on the side of the government to honour the memorandum of understanding (MoU) signed between the union and the federal government in 2017.

But speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Saturday, Wale Babalakin, chairman of the panel, said there is need for ASUU to reconsider its action.

“Our attention has been drawn to the several statements made by Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, President of the ASUU and echoed by various zonal heads and other members of the same union.

“As we had stated in our previous communication on this matter, we believe that negotiations are best done on the table rather than on the pages of the newspapers, hence we have been very reluctant to respond to the campaign of our co-negotiators.

“Our position is that dialogue on the same table is the most effective way of resolving issues.

“Unfortunately, we are compelled to respond to the allegations by ASUU which have been made in the print and electronic media because some Nigerians may begin to believe the inaccurate narratives that have been consistently provided by ASUU.

“Our position as a team is that Nigerians deserve and should have quality education. This must not be compromised as a result of inadequate funding which has been the situation in the last 30 years,” he said.

Babalakin also said government would need over N2trillion to meet the demands of the union.