Dr. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, provided an update on the continuing talks between the Federal Government and the University Academic Staff Union.

Speaking to reporters in the state assembly at the end of his meeting with the president, Ngige said the federal government has so far paid more than N92 billion in grants and revitalization to federally-owned universities across the country.

This is part of the implementation of the December 2020 agreement with ASUU, he said.

"I claim our December 2020 agreement with ASUU is being executed for a reason.There is a clause stating that the federal government should pay ASUU and other unions 40 billion naira in earned academic allowance (EAA), which has already been paid.

"An additional 30 billion guilders is budgeted or will be paid for revitalization, which was also paid at the end of last year." In December, it was also agreed that 22.127 billion guilders would be paid from the supplementary budget as a work allowance for 2021, which was also paid last year.

"It was included in a supplemental budget passed in June-July, and the funds were transferred." So, the government has done that."
The minister promised to revisit the controversial issue of using ASUU's chosen payment platform for university transparency and accountability solutions rather than the government's integrated payroll and personnel information system.

"The University's UTAS has been tested by the responsible agency, the Nigeria Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA), which conducts User Acceptance Testing, also known as Integrity and Vulnerability Testing, but in their report, they state that ASUU, the Missing areas in the platform, which would make it unusable in its current configuration."

"However, ASUU has responded to NITDA and stated that some of these observations are wrong," he said. 

According to Ngige, NITDA and ASUU technical teams have agreed to meet to jointly conduct or rerun tests on the UTAS platform in order to find a way out of the deadlock.

See how Minister walks out of the students protesting on the ASUU strike

On Monday, students at tertiary institutions protested an ongoing strike by members of the university staff union in parts including the Federal Capital Territory, supported by the National Association of Nigerian Students.

In Abuja, protesting students at the Federal Ministry of Education Secretariat were put on hold after Education Minister Adamu Adamu protested against them at a meeting.

Students demanding an immediate end to the ongoing strike at ASUU stopped in front of the National Assembly and demanded to speak to parliamentary leadership, but security on the ground closed the door to them.

The protesting students then decided to lodge a protest with the Ministry of Education and asked to speak to the minister, the request was granted

How NANS is protesting the ASUU strike, threatening to shut down government events. 

The National Student Association of Nigeria's Niger state chapter has threatened to shut down government operations in the state if the federal government does not resolve the union with university academic staff

NANS Niger regional coordinator Hussaini Ebbo made the threat in Minna on Monday during the association's peaceful protest.

He said the protest was a warning to the federal government under the direction of the NANS national headquarters.

"The next time we take to the streets to demonstrate, we will make sure that all ministries and parastatal institutions are closed," Ebo said.

Ebo accused the federal government of being dishonest in its handling of the issue, adding that students were tired of the constant strikes by university lecturers.

Pictorial: Plateau students protest om ASUU strike

On Monday, the Plateau State chapter of the National Nigerian Students Association protested an ongoing nationwide strike by the University Academic Staff Union.

The group, made up of students from several tertiary institutions, stormed the federal secretariat in the Jostuton Wada neighborhood and locked the door.