Nigerian public university students expecting a resolution to the disagreement between their lecturers and the Federal Government which has kept them at home for six months can only sigh in disappointment.
The Herald can report that a Tuesday meeting between the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Prof. Nimi Briggs Renegotiation Committee which was held at the National University Commission (NUC) in Abuja ended in stalemate.
Recall that ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke said on Monday that FG had foregone its insistence on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system (IPPIS) and agreed to adopt the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) as the payment platform for lecturers.
He further disclosed that the FG also invited the union to a Tuesday meeting for renegotiation, noting that the outcome of the meeting could bring an end to the ongoing strike.
However, the meeting failed to reach any agreement as a senior ASUU member disclosed on condition of anonymity that the Briggs renegotiation committee did not come with any new offer on the table.
The committee was said to have only appealed to the union to call off the strike with a promise that their demands would be included in the 2023 budget.
The meeting was said to have lasted three hours without any agreement reached.
ASUU had called a warning strike on February 14 to compel the government to implement its demands on salaries and allowances of lecturers, improve funding for universities, and adopt UTAS against IPPIS.
The strike has been extended on several occasions since then.