The federal government has announced some concessions on the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities by agreeing to use the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) for payment of lecturers’ salaries instead of the federal government-preferred Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) payment platform.
The government offered the sum of N65 billion to address allowances and revitalisation of universities, along with clearing of outstanding salaries.
Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, said after a meeting between both parties that out of the N65 billion, the Accountant General of the Federation will release N35 or N40 billion for all the registered trade unions in the universities after providing necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.
He continued, “The FG reiterated that her offer of N40 billion or N35 billion, whichever is accepted by ASUU, was for all the universities’ unions. ASUU had proposed that N40 billion be paid immediately for all unions.”
This is a departure from the federal government’s earlier position that it could only provide N20 billion for revitalisation fund.
“We have moved and brought on the table N15 extra billion and by that, a proposal in one basket for N25 billion Revitalisation and N40 billion Earned Allowances for all the unions in the universities,” he explained.
Furthermore, he added, “The second basket offer is the issue of revitalisation getting N30 billion and Earned Allowances getting N35 billion. So the offer has been made, it is in this document and ASUU is supposed to come back to the government with acceptance on either or one of the offers,” he said.
But despite the shift, ASUU said the strike continues.
In its Twitter account, it posted after the meeting, “#BREAKING: Meeting Ended, Federal Government Agrees To Pay Additional N15bn Revitalisation Fund, Total Now N35bn.
Strike continues
More Details To Follow
#ASUU
#ASUU_FG.”