ASUU Strike: FG To Pay Additional N15bn Revitalisation Fund, Total Now N35bn

The Federal Government has agreed to pay an additional N15 billion as revitalisation fund demanded by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, disclosed this on Friday at a press briefing in Abuja, the nation’s capital.

The government also agreed to pay the striking lecturers through the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System) until ASUU’s University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) was ready for usage.

These are some of the agreements reached at the resumed meeting between the leadership of ASUU and the federal government team on Friday.

At the end of the seven- hour meeting, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige told reporters that the Accountant-General of the Federation ( AGF) has offered to release N40 billion or in the alternative, N35 billion to be shared by all the registered Trade Unions in the universities after providing necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.

“The FG reiterated that her offer of N40 billion or 35 billion whichever is accepted by ASUU was for all the universities unions: ASUU had proposed that N40 billion be paid immediately for all unions ,” the Minister said.

Ngige said all vice-chancellors are to submit details of the EAA/EA to the National Universities Commission (NUC) on or before November 30.

Speaking on the issue of withheld salaries, Ngige said the Federal Ministry of Labour and Federal Ministry of Education will review the issue of “no work, no pay” as stipulated in Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act Cap T8 laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 with a view to getting approval for the withheld salaries to be paid.

Details later…