Wednesday, 11 December 2013
The federal government and the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) which will in effect end the over five-month-old face-off between both parties.
The MoU was singed in the presence of Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), five vice chancellors, including that of University of Port Harcourt, Ibadan and Kano, as well as the executive secretary of National Universities Commission (NUC) and the former executive secretary of Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund).
Though the details of the MoU were not readily made available to journalists, the ASUU president, Dr Nasir Fagge Isa, disclosed that the agreement captured the main areas of the union's demand, including the deposit of N200 billion in a dedicated account with Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the non-victimisation clause and infrastructural development among others.
An elated supervising minister of education, Barr Nyesom Wike described the occasion as historic and the happiest day in his tenure as a supervising minister.
According to Wike, “All contending issues have been resolved to the satisfaction of both parties; we are partners in progress and there is no victor no vanquish, as our struggle is in the interest of the country."
"Nigerians from all walks of life had expressed optimism that the strike would soon be called off. Unfortunately and sadly, too, this was not to be due to ASUU's insistence that the federal government must take further practical steps or show good faith to the implementation of the agreement."
"As a responsible and responsive government, we have a duty to restore normalcy to our university system, so that our children can resume school to pursue their educational careers. Consequently, the vice chancellors of Nigerian universities have been directed by the pro-chancellors to immediately reopen the universities for academic activities while the minor discrepancies are being sorted out."
The minister, however, expressed the government's appreciation to all stakeholders that contributed to the resolution of the crisis.
Responding, the ASUU president, assured that the union would consult with its National Executive Council, which is the second highest ruling organ of the union and within one week, communicate their decision to Nigerians.
While calling on the federal government to encourage students and manpower which will generate revenue more than crude oil, and not just within the country alone, but outside the shores of the country, he lamented that Nigeria started the university ranking journey with Brazil and Malaysia and sadly, Nigeria was not in anyway near both countries.
