The Federal Government yesterday said it was negotiating with members of Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) to end their strike.
Both unions went on an indefinite strike on Monday over non-payment of their four-month salaries that were withheld during their 2022 strike.
The government spoke after a meeting with members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of both unions at the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.
Addressing reporters after the meeting, 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 using a holistic approach to resolve the matter while discussions had reached an advanced stage to meet the unions’ demands.
Sununu assured the unions that the government was committed to having a stable educational system and resolving the lingering crisis in the sector.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 to 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 urged the unions to extend the same goodwill to the incoming ministers to ensure that the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for every child to get qualitative education through skills and competencies is achieved.
The Chairman of NASU’s JAC, Hassan Makolo, said the leadership of the unions would call off the strike when members confirmed they had received alerts.
“We had a frank discussion on the issues at stake and, as we always say, the JAC of NASU and SSANU is not a 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 would 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 issues.”
