In a bid to find a solution to the warning strike
embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the House of
Representatives has appealed to the body to call off the strike for the sake of
students, while they deliberate with the federal government to find solutions
to ending the dispute.
The House Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, made
this appeal at a meeting with the Minister of State for Labour, Festus Keyamo;
Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, and ASUU President,
Biodun Ogunyemi, on Thursday in Abuja.
Gbajabiamila also urged ASUU to consider the
psychological effect the strike would have on the students.
He urged ASUU to obey the directive by the federal government
by joining the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) with the
intention of ridding the public service of corruption.
The Speaker expressed optimism in the efforts of
the parliament to end the ongoing ASUU/federal government face off, making
reference to its previous successful efforts which had averted some industrial
strikes, such as that of Resident Doctors and the electricity workers.
According to Gbajabiamila, "We have tried to
avert strikes and we have been successful at them, like that of medical and
electricity workers’ strikes. It does not speak well of the country. It has
become almost perennial that at every point, somebody is holding somebody
somewhere. There are basically two main
issues here-agreement and IPPIS.
The law states that you should give 15-day notice.
The law is not there to be broken. The notice is to delay the inevitable, which
does not in any way affect the strike.
"On the other issue, agreements are not meant
to be disobeyed. There has to be something called sanctity of agreements. There
are situations where agreements are no longer feasible by the government. That
breach is excusable. We are calling the meeting so that the National Assembly can
be a part of this agreement.
" I have heard and read ASUU on the issue of
IPPIS. Much as you may be right that ASSU should not be part of IPPIS, but we
don't live in a jungle. If the government has come out with a policy for a good
reason, you should obey it. The government wants you to register, while you
have refused. There has to be equal application of the law. You don't have to
say we have defeated the government policy, which is a well-intended
policy."
He added: "We know there is corruption in
every sphere of this country, including ASUU, the executive arm, labour union.
Nigeria has its peculiarities, and we must accept those peculiarities. I
totally disagree with the government on the issue of agreements and violation
of agreements. If you were in sufficient contact with the House Committee, it could
have made a case on how to make a budget on that.
"We cannot go on like this. I know the government
is ready and willing to listen to you, and I want you to be able to listen to
the government as well. There is a meeting today; the chairman of the Education
Committee should be there. Whatever agreement that is reached, it will be made known
to the world.
"It is almost embarrassing for the country, so
the National Assembly is appealing to you for the sake of us children to call off
this strike, let's see what we can achieve.”
While responding, President of ASUU, Prof. Abiodun
Ogunyemi, stated that they cannot call off the strike without consulting the full
membership of ASUU in all its branches nationwide.
On IPPIS, he said it was not possible for ASUU to
join the scheme, adding that it would impede scholastic researches and image of
the Nigerian universities both home and abroad.
He said: "We are not starting a fresh strike.
On February 7, 2019, we signed a memorandum of action. Every item has role
assigned and timeline attached. We found that for much of last year, nothing
concrete was done about the memorandum of action. Three letters sequentially were
written stating some of these issues. We highlighted and agreed on the
memorandum of action. On the legality of the action, therefore, we are saying
that the government is not unaware of what was going on.
"We won’t allow the Minister of Finance to
impose IPPIS on us. It is a matter of what is reasonable. Let them tell us the
global best practice that informs that. It will shut the door against scholars
and researchers that we need. We have told them that it is not about us. We
have no reasons to cover up corruption."
On his part, the Minister of State, Labour and
Productivity, Festus Keyamo, said the government was not aware of the strike by
the lecturers.
According to him, "We are extremely happy
about this invitation by House. The issue is about the teeming youths at home
following the strike. We in the ministry of labour up till this moment have not
received any notice of any strike from ASUU. According to labour laws, ASUU
should give us a 15-day notice of any strike. No agency of government received
any notice. It is an illegal strike because it has not complied with the law.
"A meeting is fixed for 2p.m. today for further
deliberations on IPPIS system. If we want to go to the nitty-gritty of this
issue, it may take a whole day here."
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