Nigeria’s President Muhammadu Buhari has on Tuesday directed the country’s Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to engage the leaderships of the various university unions and proffer a solution in two weeks. President Muhammadu Buhari gave the order at a briefing with the federal government negotiation team of ministries, departments, and agencies (MDAs).
What’s more?
Nigeria’s President also directed the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, to be present at every negotiation with the leadership of the striking university unions.
Why this matters
As the federal government shows a desire to prioritize the five-month-old strike by Nigerian university unions, it is important that the federal government team has the right representation at the negotiations with the leadership of the university unions in order to make informed decisions. The Minister of Education has barely spoken to the media on the over five-month-old strike. Instead, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has been the official addressing the media and the Nigerian public.
In case you missed it
ASUU has been on strike since February 14th 2022, following the non-payment of funds in several agreements between the union and the federal government, amongst other grievances. After a one-month strike and a two-month extension, ASUU embarked on a 12 weeks strike from the 10th of May 2022.
What you should know
- The Nigerian university unions on strike are Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
- Those at the briefing with President Muhammadu Buhari include Adamu, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning; Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy; Isa Pantami, the Head of Service of the Federation; Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Chairman of National Salaries Income and Wages Commission; Ekpo Nta; and the Director-General Budget Office; Ben Akabueze.
Nigeria’s Labour Congress (NLC) has threatened to embark on a two-day protest from July 26th in solidarity to the striking Nigerian university unions.