President Muhammadu Buhari has said that the Federal Government remains committed to honouring promises made to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Buhari made this pledge on Tuesday, when he received members of the Nigeria Inter-Religious Council (NIREC) led by the two Co-Chairs, the Sultan of Sokoto, Alhaji Sa’ad Abubakar, and the President of the Christian Association of Nigeria, Rev. Samson Ayokunle, in Abuja.
According to the President, this is to prevent disruptive strikes, engender uninterrupted academic programmes and improve funding of education institutions.
He commended the leadership of NIREC for intervening in the year-long strike by ASUU and holding consultations with the parties.
According to him, no society which wishes itself well neglects its educational system and all its component parts.
Buhari urged NIREC that in its subsequent consultations with members of ASUU, it was important that they shared with them, that the government regarded them and the service they provided to the nation very highly.
”However, they should be cognisant of the fiscal pressures that we are currently facing. Nevertheless, we remain committed to honouring our promises.
”For their part, I will like to encourage ASUU to continue to work with us toward finding resolutions to the challenges that confront us.
”My administration is committed to this engagement and dialogue, and I urge them to stay the course toward a joint resolution in the best interest of our children and nation,” he said.
Responding to issues raised by the leadership of NIREC on finding sustainable solutions to the perennial and disruptive strikes that threatened the sanctity and integrity of the nation’s university system, the President said he had directed his Chief of Staff, the Ministers of Labour and Employment and Education, to make resolving the issue a priority.
The President said he had received a briefing from the minister of labour, “detailing where we are today, given the various interested parties, and he apprised the meeting as follows:
“To show our commitment, several payments have been made over the last 6 months, addressing several of the issues you raised – details of which the minister of labour and employment can make available to you.
“Funding has also been provided for infrastructure development across several public universities and several of them have begun drawing down on this facility to improve their level of infrastructure
“Finally, and perhaps the most contentious of issues regarding the decision to use either the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) or the University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS).
“As you may be aware, IPPIS was introduced as a means of blocking leakages. Through IPPIS, the Federal Government was able to save over N100 billion annually from the core civil service alone. In view of the resistance from ASUU we devised UTAS which is now on the table.
“I have also been informed that the System Assessment Report conducted by NITDA has been shared by the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy to all stakeholders, including ASUU, and they are to make the appropriate modifications and report their recommendations,’’ Buhari revealed.