ASUU Strike Update: FG Offers ASUU N30bn
The latest update on the July 2013 ASUU Strike is that the Federal Government has now started to gradually dance to the tune of ASUU when it offered N30 billion as earned allowances to the striking university lecturers. The FG has earlier claimed to be short of funds and hence would not be able to afford the demands of ASUU.
Read the full gist on the latest ASUU-FG negotiations as reported by ThisDay:
Federal government (FG) offered N30 billion as earned allowances to the striking university lecturers under Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in a bid to end the strike that has lasted for more than a month now , which has resulted to stopping academic activities in some universities nationwide.
As seen on the news that a top official from the Federal Ministry of Education told THISDAY Thursday, that due to the dwindling revenue base of the government, it was ready to offer N30 billion out of 87 billion to the striking lecturers (Recall that Finance Minister claimed ASUU demanded for N92bn).
Government’s offer is believed to be a sincere approach in ending the strike in the midst of dwindling revenue profile occasioned by oil theft and macro-economic measures aimed at diversifying the economy.
According to source, the N30 billion, which the federal government was offering, was in the conviction that considering the nation’s current revenue base, ASUU should make some sacrifices and go back to work in the interest of the students and the country at large.
He disclosed that the government was desirous of a holistic and sustainable solution to the problems bedeviling the entire education sector, adding that the focus is on infrastructure development, which the federal government had set up the Governor Gabriel Suswam-led University Needs Implementation Committee to handle.
The NEEDS Implementation Committee had announced on Tuesday, that N100 billion would be made available to universities for infrastructure development.
What do you you think about this improvement? should ASUU collect the offer and resume work or should they request for more money i believe FG can do better. End of story!
Now that the Federal Government has made the opening offer, let’s wait for ASUU to react to this ans see where we go from here. Thus might be the move we have been waiting for to put an end to the July 2013 ASUU Strike.
What do you think? Let’s hear you!
