Citybuzznews

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities has expressed readiness to resume negotiations with the Federal Government to end the ongoing strike, saying it has received signals from government officials indicating willingness to restart talks. ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, disclosed this on Monday during an interview on Channels Television, where he reaffirmed the union’s commitment to dialogue as the only path to resolving the lingering industrial dispute. ASUU had on Sunday declared a comprehensive two-week strike, suspending academic work across public universities, citing unresolved demands that have lingered for years. In response, the Federal Government argued that it has met ASUU’s demands and has labelled the strike unjustifiable. Further complicating matters, the government threatened to enforce a “no work, no pay” policy, intending to withhold salaries of lecturers who fail to resume work. However, the Nigeria Labour Congress condemned the threat, warning that such a move would undermine fair negotiation and the right of workers to collective bargaining. The labour body also pledged its support for ASUU in its call for improved conditions in the university system. Despite the tense exchanges, Piwuna said the union was encouraged by renewed contact from top government officials seeking a resolution. “Today, I received a call from Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Chairman of the Federal Government Team, and he’s eager to resume talks with us. I also received another call from the Minister of State for Labour, stating that she’s been directed to intervene and get this matter resolved. ASUU is willing. We are ready and available to discuss this matter once and for all,” Piwuna said. He added that the union expected official communication from the Implementation and Labour Monitoring Committee between Monday night and Tuesday, noting that ASUU would immediately honour any invitation to the negotiation table. “My understanding, as I’m talking to you now, is that between this night and tomorrow, I will get a communication from the secretary of the IALM Committee for a meeting at a date that they will tell us. And I would also hear from the Minister of Labour on what they want to do to resolve this matter. We are ready and willing to go back and talk,” he said. Piwuna, however, emphasised that the strike action was never an easy choice for the union but a last resort to press home demands that had lingered for years. “Strike has never been an option that we exercise so freely. We are willing to talk about all these issues,” he stated. Reacting to the Minister of Education’s recent remarks that all outstanding issues with the union had been resolved, Piwuna challenged the government to clarify why further meetings were being arranged if no unresolved matters remained. He said, “Since the minister has said all the problems have been solved, that there is nothing left, I want Nigerians to ask the Ministry of Labour and the Federal Government negotiating team: if the issues have been solved, why are you going back to talk with ASUU? Are lecturers in LASU or Kogi State University still not being victimised? Has the 2009 agreement been concluded?” The ASUU president reiterated that both lecturers and students were victims of government inaction, stressing that the union’s goal was to restore stability and quality in Nigeria’s public university system through sincere dialogue. “Nigerian students and academic staff union of universities are victims of governments. They are victims of governments in action and several other things. So we see ourselves as victims of this government, the way students see themselves as victims of what is going on,” he said. Already, several universities, including Olabisi Onabanjo University, Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, Tai Solarin University of Education, and the University of Ibadan, have joined the industrial action, grounding lectures and other academic operations on their campuses.