ASUU STRIKE: Education Minister On Foreign Trip as ASUU Strike Continues

BY: News Peddlers 

The minister of education, Adamu Adamu, is said to be out of the country during the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

This was revealed by a highly credible source in an interview with PUNCH on Thursday in Abuja.

Though the source did not reveal the country or reason for the minister's trip, it was revealed that the minister is expected to return to the country on September 2, 2022.

PUNCH correspondent had inquired about the government's intentions regarding the ongoing ASUU strike.

"The supervisory minister (Adamu Adamu), who is now in charge of negotiations, is currently out of the country," the source said. He is scheduled to return on September 2. He is the one with all the details right now."

Ben Goong, the ministry of education's spokesperson, did not immediately respond to The PUNCH's inquiries about the minister's travels.

According to the PUNCH, ASUU announced the start of an indefinite strike at the University of Lagos on Monday, February 14, 2022.

The union cited numerous reasons for its decision to strike. Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, the union's national president, listed the union's demands during a press conference.

Among the demands are the release of the university revitalization fund, the release of earned allowances for lecturers, the release of the report of the visitation panels to universities, the deployment of the University Transparency Accountability System for the payment of university lecturers' salaries and allowances, and the renegotiation of the ASUU-FGN 2009 agreement.

Chris Ngige, the minister of labour and employment, had led conciliatory meetings between the union and the government in an attempt to end the strike.

However, the president, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd), mandated the minister of education, Adamu Adamu, to take over negotiations a few weeks ago.

During a recent press conference, Adamu stated that the government would not pay the union for the months it did not work.

The union, on the other hand, has remained steadfast.

(PUNCH)