By Deborah Hassan
365Daily – The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila is scheduled to meet with the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu; and the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osedeke, over a threat by ASUU to resume its strike action.
ASUU had said lecturers will resume its suspended strike action after the Federal Government reneged on its agreement to pay them a N22bn allowance as agreed in December, 2020.
In reaction, Speaker Gbajabiamila summoned an emergency meeting for Thursday, November 18, 2021.
This was sequel to a motion of urgent public importance moved by the Chairman of the House Committee on Basic Education, Prof. Julius Ihonvbere.
Ihonvbere urged the House to ask “the Federal Government to urgently take all necessary measures to open a realistic negotiation with ASUU to stop the strike and implement the signed agreement in the interest of our students, their parents, the education sector and the country.”
Commenting on the motion, the Speaker said: “The Committees on Education, Tertiary and Basic, should investigate and report back to the House. I will meet with the Minister of Finance, Minister of Education and representatives of ASUU in my office on Thursday.”
The motion on the urgent need for the Federal Government to do all within its powers to stop the impending ASUU strike noted that ASUU is threatening to proceed on another industrial action over the implementation of negotiated and signed agreements with the Federal Government.
It stated further: “The House notes also that the Federal Government has not been quite forthcoming, neither has it attached any consistent seriousness to the urgent need to reposition and refocus the education sector in line with our developmental objectives.
“The House is aware that the ASUU President has threatened to call out his members across the nation, if all the issues, including those of unpaid academically earned allowances and the universities revitalisation fund, are not addressed within a period of three weeks.”
Hon. Ihonvbere warned while leading debate on the motion that the future of Nigerian students would again be negatively impacted if the Federal Government does not address issues raised by ASUU for the impending strike.
He added: “The House is also acknowledging that strikes encourage brain drain, migration of students abroad and low world rankings of our academic institutions.
“The House is embarrassed that the Federal Government has, since the last strike was called off in December 2020, continued to pass the buck, make excuses and engage in diversions and distractions rather than meet the terms of agreement it signed with the union.”
In her debate on the motion, the Deputy Majority Whip, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, lamented that another ASUU strike will affect many people. She stressed that it was wrong for the government to sign the agreement and later renege.