The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has insisted that it will not back down on the strike by members of the union across the country, which is currently in its fifth month.
ASUU National President, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, who stated this on Tuesday while briefing reporters in Abuja said the leadership of the union would not be subjected to blackmail by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
Osodeke said, “We will not be subjected to the blackmail of the minister of labour. Ngige has continued to blackmail us by churning out lies.
“They stopped our salaries thinking they will make us go back to work. Let them sit down as directed by the president.
This comes after President Muhammadu Buhari mandated the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to proffer solution to the lingering strike alongside his counterparts within 2wks.
Lecturers in government-owned universities embarked on a nationwide strike on February 14 over the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) of the government as the payment system in the university sector.
They had also decried the poor funding of universities, non-payment of salaries and allowances of some of their colleagues, as well as the inability of the government to pay earned academic allowance to lecturers, among other issues.
Since the industrial action began, several negotiations between the union and the government have ended in deadlock.
