The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has asked for the release of N50 billion as a sign of good faith from the Federal Government.
According to the reports, the stated sum is meant to be a part of the total sum agreed on between the union and the Federal Government to be used in the revitalisation of public universities.
The lecturers who have been on strike since November 4, 2018, gave this as a condition for returning to work.
The President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, made the disclosure during an interview with Premium Times on Wednesday night, January 16, 2019.
He said that ‘the union is not asking the government to release the whole N220 billion at once.’
The strike was called in a bid to urge the Federal Government for improved funding of universities and for the implementation of previous agreements.
The union is also demanding for the implementation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreements, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU; 2012 and 2013) and Memorandum of Action (MoA, 2017) as well as the truncation of the renegotiation of the agreements made with the union.
The union is also demanding that the government release the funds for the revitalisation of public universities, also in line with the FGN-ASUU MoU of 2012, 2013 and the MoA of 2017.
The failure of the government to release the operational licence to the Nigerian University Employees Pension Company, NUPEMCO, is also a major source of annoyance to the teachers.
We do know that a major issue holding the negotiations back is the revitalisation of the universities.
According to Vanguard, the government is yet to release the N1.1 trillion that was agreed upon as part of the funds for the revitalisation project.
The 2013 MoU reportedly stipulates that public universities need N1.3 trillion for a modest revitalisation.
The fund which was to be released in tranches of N200billion in 2013, N220billion 2014, N220billion 2015, 220billion in 2016, N220billion in 2017 and N220billion in 2018, is yet to be seen.
