After the Academic Staff of Universities Union (ASUU) rejected its inability to call a meeting three months after President Muhammadu Buhari gave the directive, the president’s chief of staff, Ibrahim Gambari, will chair a tripartite meeting on Thursday to address persistent problems. Labor crisis in the Nigerian university system.
On February 1, Mr. Buhari directed Mr. Gambari and the Ministers of Education and Labor and Employment, Adamu Adamu and Chris Ngige respectively, to form a team to address the concerns of the unions of aggrieved workers on strike.
But in its statement on Monday, ASUU said that since the president’s directive was issued, the officials concerned had not held any meetings to resolve the conflicts.
ASUU has said that the government’s failure to show concern for its demands forced it to extend the three-month strike for another three months.
The Nigerian Labor Congress (NLC) and the Trades Union Congress (TUC) have also threatened to join the university workers on strike in solidarity. The country’s two main labor unions urged the government to act or face the consequences.
But in what could be described as an abrupt decision, the Ministry of Labor and Employment has written to invite interested parties to the meeting described as “Tripartite-Plus”.
This comes after the news of the resignation of the Minister of State for Education, Emeka Nwajiuba, was announced at the Federal Executive Council meeting by the President.
Nwajiuba, a contender for Nigeria’s presidency under the ruling All Progressives Congress, resigned from office to pursue his political dream.
But his aspiration has been widely condemned by many Nigerians who chided him for showing the “chutzpah” to secure a N100 million nomination and expression of interest forms amid the ongoing crisis in the nation’s education sector.
proposed meeting
According to a copy of the invitation letter seen by PREMIUM TIMES, the meeting which is scheduled for 4 pm in the state house banquet hall will also be attended by representatives from the Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC), the surprising labor unions and other labor unions such as NLC and TUC.
A copy of the invitation letter addressed to one of the interested unions and signed on behalf of Mr. Ngige by his special adviser in charge of technical matters, CC Dike, urged those invited to honor the invitation.
The letter said in part; “I am referring to the ongoing strikes by ASUU and other registered unions in the various universities in Nigeria and to inform you that the President’s Chief of Staff will chair a Tripartite – Plus meeting” which will cover the Union of Academic Staff of Universities (ASUU) and other unions registered with universities in Nigeria, as well as identified interest groups and civil societies. The Nigerian Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) would participate in the meeting.
“In view of the above, I am ordered to invite you to the meeting scheduled for Thursday. May 12, 2022, at Banquet Hall, State House, Abuja at 4 p.m.
ASUU, SSANU react
Meanwhile, the ASUU leadership has said it has yet to decide whether or not to honor the invitation.
In a phone interview with PREMIUM TIMES, union president Emmanuel Osodeke said the decision to attend or not will be made by the union on Thursday.
He, however, did not deny having been invited to the meeting.
Osodeke said: “We will meet tomorrow to decide whether or not to attend.”
But for his part, a member of SSANU’s national executive council confirmed to our reporter by phone that the SSANU-NASU Joint Action Committee will honor the invitation.
The union’s national vice president, Abdussobur Salaam, told our reporter by phone that union members are already in Abuja to attend the meeting.
“You know that we already met with the minister of education for the U3PS presentation yesterday, so we are in Abuja, and I can confirm that JAC will be at the meeting,” he said.
Bottom
The four university unions – ASUU and its non-academic counterparts, the Educational and Associated Institutions Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) – have been on strike, closing all public universities.
When the ASUU strike went three months on Monday, the union announced a three-month extension.
The unions have kicked against the abandonment of the university system by successive administrations, the poor welfare conditions of its members through non-payment of allowances and the accumulation of wage arrears, among others.
Qosim Suleiman is a reporter for PREMIUM TIMES in collaboration with report to the worldthat unites local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on hidden topics around the world.