On Wednesday, Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, indicated that the Federal Government would investigate the threat posed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The majority of the union’s objections, according to the minister, were lodged with the ministries of Education, Communications, and Digital Economy.
In an interview with The PUNCH in Abuja, Ngige stated this.
ASUU had threatened to go on an indefinite strike multiple times in the past, citing the Federal Government’s inability to honor some of the agreements it had signed with it.
Ngige, however, told The PUNCH, “The truth is that ASUU’s grievances are with the NUC, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy. The issues are the deployment of their UTAS and the White Paper report on the universities.
“You know that we at the Ministry of Labour are not their employer; the Education ministry is their employer. Our job here is to act as reconciliatory officers.
“The President has mandated his Chief of Staff and the Minister of Education as well as the Ministry of Labour to step in, but my job is to step in as the reconciliatory officer if both sides refuse to settle their grievances. We will surely look into the matter.”
