The Academic Staff Union of Universities has said the Federal Government cannot be trusted over its promise to meet all its demands.
The union’s National President, Prof. Emmanuel Oshodeke, in an interview with our correspondent on Wednesday, said the government had yet to get in touch with ASUU leadership after the meeting it had with the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council where it promised to meet the lecturers’ requests.
The PUNCH had reported that members of NIREC led by its co-chairmen, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammad Abubakar III, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Dr Samson Ayokunle, visited the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.) over the lack of implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding the government signed with ASUU in 2009 and others.
At the meeting, Buhari said the government remained committed to fulfilling the promises made to ASUU.
Oshodeke, however, said the government could not be trusted, saying it was only NIREC that had reached out to ASUU after the meeting.
He said, “It is only NIREC who got in touch and we will be meeting with them soon. FG didn’t get in touch with us, they only said it to please you people so that you will have something to write.
“We are very patient, the union is meeting soon and we hope they will get in touch with us before we meet them. You can’t trust any of them; they say something today and do the opposite. That is exactly where we are.
“If they say they will implement all the agreements, why is it taking them all the years? Why do they have to tell third party? That’s the problem we have with them. They will tell you they are doing something and in the next 10years, they are still on it and the condition will persist.
“We do hope that this time, they will change. As a patient union that believes that NIREC can help solve the issues, we will be patient with them.”
The university lecturers outlined that the bone of contention between them and the FG were inconclusive renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, University Transparency and Accountability Solution, Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system and distortion in salary payment, funding of the revitalisation of public universities, earned academic allowance, state universities and promotion arrears.