The meeting convened yesterday by the Senate to mediate between the Executive and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) ended in a stalemate.
This is just as the one week warning strike embarked upon by the union elapse today.
The Senate had Tuesday mandated Senate President Bukola Saraki to mediate between the federal government and the union in order to halt the impending indefinite strike.
Our correspondent reports that Saraki presided over the first mediation meeting on Wednesday which ended in a deadlock.
Yesterday’s meeting which was chaired by the chairman of the Senate committee on Tertiary Institutions and TETFund, Senator Jibrin Barau (APC, Kano) lasted for eight hours without a resolution.
ASUU delegation led by the National President, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi left without speaking to the press at the end of the meeting around 8.30pm.
Addressing newsmen, Barau said they have agreed on all issues raised by ASUU, except the earned allowances of the lecturers.
“We are to go back to our respective constituencies. The government has proposed a certain offer but ASUU expressed reservation. We hope they will accept the offer,” he said.
Our correspondent gathered that the FG has offered to pay the earned allowances in instalments.
A source who attended the meeting said the FG has offered to pay N1.5billion monthly out of the N60billion accumulated earned allowances of the union.
“The government has offered to pay N1.5billion for six months, pending the completion of the forensic audit of the N30billion paid to the union for same purpose,” the source said.
The source said the union kicked against it, insisting that they should be paid N3billion monthly.(Culled from Daily Trust).
