The Federal Government has reiterated its stance on the “No Work, No Pay” policy as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) embarks on a two-week warning strike.
The government stated that it would be guided by this law should academic activities be disrupted in the nation’s universities.
In a statement signed by the Director of Press and Public Relations at the Federal Ministry of Education, Folasade Boriowo, the government reaffirmed that while it continued to demonstrate goodwill and flexibility, it would not abdicate its responsibility to uphold fairness and accountability in the use of public resources.
The statement, however, reassured Nigerian students, parents, and the general public that the Federal Government remained firmly committed to maintaining industrial harmony within the tertiary education system.
It added that the Minister of Education has appealed to all academic unions to embrace partnership and dialogue, rather than confrontation, in the collective interest of the nation’s higher education sector.
ASUU has on Sunday announced a total and comprehensive two-week warning strike in public universities across Nigeria.
The union’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, stated that there had been no meaningful progress to prevent the union from moving forward with its planned industrial action.
The Federal Government had appealed to ASUU to shelve its planned strike, assuring that it is committed to addressing all outstanding demands raised by the union.
The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the Federal Government was already looking into the demands of the Union and progress was already being made in the ongoing negotiations between both parties.
The Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee has been reconstituted and inaugurated to fast-track talks with both academic and non-academic unions in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
