So it’s the 59th day and here’s the latest update!
President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said there was no need for the
Academic Staff Union of Universities to continue with their industrial
action. Mr. Jonathan said this at the inauguration of the Federal Government
sponsored-Transformation Projects at the Federal University of
Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
Represented by Ruqayyat Rufai, the Minister of Education, the
president said N30 billion had been released for the payment of earned
allowances in all public universities.
The president said that the inaugurated projects were in line with
the Federal Government’s commitment to providing quality education in
the country. He said the projects were based on the need assessment
exercise conducted by the Federal Government in universities.
University lecturers have been on a nationwide strike for over 8
weeks with the lecturers demanding a full implementation of a 2009
agreement it had with the federal government. While the government says
it has provided N30 billion for earned allowances of lecturers, the
lecturers said about N92 billion is required to completely offset the
earned allowances of the concerned lecturers. That and other demands are
the reasons the lecturers have continued with their strike.