ASUU Strike - NLC Makes Fresh Intervention, Writes To Jonathan

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has begun another move to intervene in the impasse between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government.

The Acting General Secretary of the congress, Chris Uyot, told the News Agency of Nigeria on Monday in Abuja that the union had written a letter to the Presidency.

"The leadership of NLC has written a letter to the Presidency seeking leave to intervene in the crisis which is now in its sixth month.

"We have sent a letter to the presidency today, December 9. We want to intervene in this matter.

"The turn of events is causing a lot of disaffection which can easily be resolved, that is if the government is willing to talk about it," Uyot said.

Mr. Uyot said that the NLC President, Abdulwahed Omar, met with the leadership of ASUU in Abuja as a preliminary step to articulate their position before meeting with the presidency when invited.

The NLC and the Trade Union Congress led the ASUU team to the Presidential Villa onNovember 4 in a 13- hour closed-door meeting with the president.

Part of the agreement reached at the meeting was the increased funding to universities beginning from a N200 billion intervention fund in 2013. ASUU wants the money released to the universities within two weeks while the federal government through a presidential aide, Doyin Okupe, presented evidence that the process of making the payment to the universities had begun through the Central Bank.

The lecturers also want a non-victimisation clause included in the final agreement with the president; as well as the commencement of re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement in 2014, as discussed with the president.

However, the federal government, through the Education Minister, Nyesom Wike, on November 28 gave ASUU a week ultimatum to call off the strike; else there would be mass sack of the non-complying lecturers. Though the ultimatum was to end on December 4, the National Universities Commission boss, Julius Okojie, announced its extension to December 9.

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