From Ndubuisi Orji, Abuja
House of Representatives has berated the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU), Emmanuel Osodeke, over claims that the union was deceived into suspending its strike by Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila.
The Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Benjamin Kalu, in a statement, yesterday, said Gbajabiamila did not at any time during his mediation in the Federal Government/ ASUU dispute made a commitment that the university lecturers will be paid for the period they were on strike.
Osodeke, in an interview with a national daily, was quoted to have said that the speaker deceived ASUU to call off its strike with a promise that the government will offset the arrears of salaries owed the university lecturers.
However, Kalu said “Professor Osodeke’s bad-faith approach to negotiations and his affinity for political brinkmanship are significant reasons the universities were on strike for so long. His ongoing interventions continue to threaten the progress being made to preclude the possibility of further disruptions to the academic calendar of the universities.
“ Therefore, I call on him, in his capacity as President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to desist from making further misleading statements against the House of Representatives and the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila. There is no place for belligerence and selfish agitation in this critical moment. This is the time for calm heads and steady hands, working together for the common good. The House spokesman explained that “for the record, at no point did the Speaker of the House of Representatives commit to offset the arrears of salaries owed to union members for the time they were on strike. The House of Representatives helped resolve the strike by making commitments to improve the welfare package of university lecturers and revitalisation funds to improve the infrastructure and operations of federal universities.
“These commitments are reflected in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes one hundred and seventy billion naira (N170,000,000,000) to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers and additional three hundred billion naira (N300,000,000,000) in revitalisation funds. Furthermore, the House of Representatives continues to work with stakeholders; the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).”