By Harry Awurumibe, Editor Abuja Bureau
For the five months federal government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
face-off to end, the President Muhammadu Buhari has to personally intervene to end imbroglio following the insincerity of the government negotiating team.
This call was made on Thursday by the President of ASUU, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke while speaking on Channels Television breakfast programme Sunrise Daily.
According to him, it has become imperative for the President to urgently step in to resolve the trade dispute between ASUU and federal government as the Union and government negotiating team are not making any headway.
Said he: “We (ASUU) are pleading with President Buhari to look into federal reserve and ASUU Face-off with fatherly eyes and persuade the government team to quickly sign the agreement reached with the Union so that Nigerian students can go back to the lecture rooms to learn”.
Specifically, Professor Osodeke pointed accusing fingers to Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige, alleging that he has become “A meddlesome interloper” in the FG/ ASUU face-off.
“It is unfortunate that the Minister of Labour who is only a Conciliator has taken side in the dispute and has made himself part of the problem”, he said.
The University Don alleged that the Labour Minister and others he did not mention may have been lying to the President hence the President recently told ASUU that “Enough is Enough”.
An angry ASUU boss said: “We negotiated with Lulu-Briggs Committee set up by Federal Republic of Nigeria. Minister of Labour is a Conciliator. One who brings people together to negotiate and not the person who should be speaking on what transpired”.
“He is not the one ASUU is negotiating with and it should be known by all that ASUU did not negotiate with Minister of Labour, Ngige is a meddlesome interloper, but for Labour Minister, the strike would have been over by now”.
Speaking further, Professor Osodeke said: “It is either there is confusion in FG or somebody is playing pranks with ASUU. For Minister of Labour to say he was not aware of the report or position of Lulu-Briggs Committee on ASUU demands is a slap on the faces of eminent Nigerians who served in the Committee”.
He therefore alleged that the Minister of Labour and his group may have gone to President Muhammadu Buhari to deceive him to say “Enough is Enough” while negotiations are still on-going.
Asked to react to the government’s allegation that demanding for N1.12 Trillion needed to off-set ASUU demands
Asked to confirm if ASUU is truly demanding for N1.12 Trillion which the Union said it’s needed to off-set its demands, Professor Osodeke said ASUU does not know government came about the figure they are throwing about.
Said he: “The truth is that we are not aware how government came about N1.12 Trillion they are brandishing to the public. If this man who alleged that his negotiation team were chased away by our members, can say that then he can as well tell Nigerians where they got the figure they are throwing about”.
On the accusation by the federal government that ASUU-approved payment platform, UTAS failed integrity test, Professor Osodeke said the newly developed indigenous payment platform has passed all the tests carried out by government.
“Our UTAS did not fail any test, instead it has passed all the tests. The first test of UTAS scored 79% while it scored 99.3% in the second test while the IPPIS they have used for 18 years have not been subjected to any kind of test.
They don’t want to use a home-grown payment system for reasons best known to them”, ASUU President alleged.
According to him: “We challenge FG to publish the Report of the Auditor-General of the Federation on the so-called IPPIS”.
