Osinbajo urges union to embrace dialogue with FG over ASUU strike

Osinbajo urges union to embrace dialogue with FG over ASUU strike

Vice President Yemi Osinbajo has urged the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has been on strike since February over unmet conditions by the Federal Government, to embrace dialogue.

The Vice President disclosed this on Sunday at the 2022 International Workers Day celebration themed “Labour, Politics and the Quest for Good Governance and Development in Nigeria.’’

He added that the FG is not unmindful of the fact the young Nigerians who should be in school are at home.

What Osinbajo is saying

The Vice President said, “We are not unmindful of the anxieties of our children and their parents who are plagued by thoughts of an uncertain future as they stay home because their universities have been shut by an industrial action.

“I appeal to ASUU and the broader labour community to seek the path of dialogue.

“But at all times, we have through dialogue found a path forward. It is in this spirit that I call on ASUU to embrace dialogue with the Government.

“I call on the Nigeria Labour Congress and the Trade Union Congress to help facilitate a resolution of this dispute through dialogue.”

“I believe that we can find a path forward in good faith. And this is what we will do.”

What you should know

• Nairametrics reported last week that the NLC had called for the quick intervention of the FG in negotiations with ASUU, stating that the continuity of the strike is not acceptable.
• Nigeria’s Labour Minister, Chris Ngige also lamented the current state of negotiation between it and the members of ASUU.
• ASUU, had on February 14, embarked on a 4-week total and comprehensive strike to press home their unresolved demands on the federal government.
• The union on March 14, extended the industrial action by another 2 months, hinging it on the lack of seriousness on the part of the Federal Government to address the issues.
• Some of the lecturers’ demands include funding for the revitalisation of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances, adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) and payment of promotion arrears.