Why ASUU Will Have No Reason To Embark On Strike Again, Minister

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has assured University students and other stakeholders that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would have no reason to embark on industrial action.

Ngige let this out on Wednesday night during a Television programme ”Politics Today” on Channels Television.

The Minister said, he would ensure that the federal government keeps to its end of the agreement to ASUU. This is coming a few hours after ASUU suspended its 9-month-long strike.

The Anambra-born Politician added that, the government would pay the agreed N40bn Earned Allowance before December 31, 2020.

“We will not get to that (fresh strike), we will not get there because we have so structured the agreement in such a way that it is a win-win situation for everybody.

“For example, the Revitalisation (Fund), we have given government up to 31st of January to pay that. We have also opened the window that by end of February, we will sit down and review the situation, eight weeks or nine weeks from now, so nobody will keep anybody in suspense.

“I will not give ASUU the opportunity to go on strike (again) because I have three biological children that suffered from this imbroglio that we found ourselves in. So, I am a committed parent, I am involved, even more than some ASUU members because some of them have their children in private schools.

“I will not give them the opportunity because I will make sure the government does its own bit. I have structured the agreement in such a way that it is doable.”

On the threat by the ASUU president that the union could return to strike without informing the government, Ngige said, “They also know that we have labour laws and if the worst comes to the worst, they will give time, they will give notice.”