Details of the federal government meeting with Academic staff union of universities (ASUU) on Thursday has been revealed.
The meeting which ended at the wee hours of Friday was headed by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.
It was gathered that the two parties agreed on the intermittent or periodic review of the MOA so that areas that will create tension will be apprehended before matters degenerate.
The National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, therefore, applauded the Federal Government for agreeing with the union on the periodic review of the MOA
“Put together, we want to agree that we had fruitful discussions and we have strong hopes that there will be fruitful and harmonious relationship in achieving the provisions of the MOA of 2020.
“We want to agree that it is a departure from the past because, now, we have agreed on intermittent or periodic review of the MOA so that areas that will create tension will be apprehended before matters degenerate,” Ogunyemi said.
Briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting which lasted for about four hours, Ngige said they discussed every item on the MOA and reached agreements.
On the issue of the N30 billion revitalisation fund, the Minister said they looked at the payment and how to streamline the outstanding payment into the national budget or into a special system fund.
With regards to Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), Ngige recalled that the government paid N40 billion to all the unions while the National Universities Commission (NUC) provided a formula, which was used for sharing it to all the university workers.
“We had pockets of protest and we managed it. Today, we also agreed to find a way to accommodate the balance in order to pay all as and when due.” Ngige said.
