Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will meet
today in a last ditch efforts to resolve the
lingering crisis in the University System.
As a prelude to the meeting scheduled for
10.00a.m today, the Federal Government
was locked in a meeting with the Vice
Chancellors of the federal universities for
about two hours on Monday.
Supervising Minister of Education, Mr
Nyesom Wike, after the closed door meeting
declined comment to newsmen, but told
journalists that the government would be
meeting with the leadership of ASUU today.
Wike, who chaired the meeting held at the
auditorium of the National Universities
Commission (NUC), had said the meeting
was a normal interaction with the vice
chancellors.
Before the commencement of the meeting,
Wike excused journalists, personal
assistants, his aides and all others, except
the vice chancellors, ostensibly to prevent
leakage of their deliberations.
However, Nigerian Tribune gathered that the
meeting was to see how the universities that
have been shut for about four months now
could be reopened to students as well as
fine-tune discussion on the position of the
government against the meeting with ASUU
today.
Wike had last week assured that the
protracted strike would soon be called off
based on the outcome of the last parley with
ASUU leadership.
Nigerian Tribune had reported that based on
the fresh agreement between the Federal
Government and ASUU, the leadership of
ASUU was to go back to brief its members at
a meeting after the Eid-el-kabir celebration.
It was gathered, on Monday, that the
meeting today would afford the ASUU to
report to the government about the position
of the union on the offers by the Federal
Government so far.
The fresh accord struck by the Vice-
President Namadi Sambo with the union,
government had agreed to increase the N30
billion already released for the payment of
academic earned allowance to N40 billion.
According to sources, the government also
agreed that the N40 billion should be
regarded only as first instalment, and not a
once-and-for-all payment.
The memorandum drafted at the of the
meeting indicated that the government
would top it up with further releases once
universities are through with the
disbursement of N40 million.
Accordingly, vice chancellors were urged to
expedite the disbursement within the
shortest possible time using guiding
templates that have been sent by the
Committee of Vice Chancellors to them.
On the implementation of the Needs
Assessment to Nigerian Universities report,
it was stated that the government was
cognisant and mindful of the ability of
universities to effectively and efficiently
utilise the N100 billion fund immediately,
hence that figure.
"However, in addition to this N100 billion
dedicated and already to be made available
for 2013, N200 billion (increased from
N150 billion previously agreed) will now be
earmarked in the 2014 budget, as well as
each of the following three-four years until
the universities are brought to world-class
standard.
Also, on project prioritisation, universities
would now be allowed to determine their
priorities and not be "rail-roaded" into
implementing a pre-determined set of
projects with respect to the NEEDS
assessment. Decisions are not to be
centralised.
The government also assured that the
operations of the Tertiary Education Trust
Fund (TETFund) would not be impaired, and
that the regular TETFund intervention
disbursement to universities woul continue,
unaffected.
"So, the NEEDS assessment capital outlays
are in addition to regular TETFund
intervention."
Although, the President of ASUU, Dr Nasir
Isa Fagge, could not confirm the willingness
of ASUU to attend today's meeting, but the
Nigerian Tribune gathered that zonal
meetings of ASUU in their various
universities were held last week to collate
opinion of the members of the government
offers.
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