The meeting between the Federal Government team and the leadership of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) has ended in a deadlock with the non – teaching staff staging a walk out.
General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi, said the union’s hope that the meeting would bring peace to the university system was dashed by the government team led by Prof. Nimi Briggs, Pro-Chancellor, Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State.
“Unfortunately, the Government Team of the Renegotiation Committee led by Prof. Nimi Briggs, the Pro-Chancellor of Federal University, Ndufu-Alike, Ikwo, Ebonyi State was not ready for any renegotiation.
“This was very obvious from the moment the meeting commenced looking at the first item on the report of the Sub-committee of the Renegotiating Committee,” Adeyemi said in a statement on Friday in Abuja.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and NASU on Sunday, 10, 2022 extended its warning strike by two weeks to give the government time to respond to its demands.
According to the statement by Adeyemi, on resumption of the re-negotiation on Friday, the government side did everything possible to set aside the report of the Sub-committee, which was chaired by Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, with the current Chairman, Prof. Nimi Briggs as member.
He stated that the government side was only “ready to enter disagreements on all items on the union’s MOD as if that was a pre-determined position before the meeting.”
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The statement added: “It is obvious that the Government side of the Renegotiation Committee lacks capacity to commit their Principals (the Federal Government) on any issue of the negotiation. This we found to be strange and not in line with the principles of collective bargaining.
“It is shocking and surprising to the Union that at this time when all hands should be on deck to resolve the lingering crisis in the University system in order to enable our children return to the classroom, the Government side of the Renegotiation Committee will show non-commitment and nonchalant attitude to the renegotiation, which is aimed at resolving the crisis. We came to the conclusion that the meeting was just window dressing and aimed at playing to the gallery.
“NASU members of the Negotiation Committee therefore had no option than to inform the Government side that they have to go back to their Principals, i.e., NASU members in the Universities and Inter-University Centres to inform them of the development and get their directives on further steps to take.” (The Nation)
