YOU'VE TURNED THE ASUU STRIKE INTO A PERSONAL VENDETTA - JEGA SLAMS NGIGE

Attahiru Jega

According to Attahiru Jega, former chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, has turned the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike into a personal feud.

Jega stated on Arise TV on Tuesday that Ngige is causing more problems than he is solving.

"Unfortunately, right now, the minister of labour is not helping matters. He has turned this into a personal quarrel between him and the minister of education on one hand and between himself and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the other," Jega said.

"While many other people are trying to find a way of addressing this situation so that students can go back to school and ASUU can go back to work, he is busy creating challenges.

"He now took the matter to the industrial court, now today, he now registered two unions and he is trying to proscribe ASUU

"If this is allowed by this government, I think this is a recipe for disaster and it may really create more problems than it can solve on this matter of strike in the universities.

ASUU has been on strike since February 2022 in order to press for higher wages.

home the demand for increased university funding and a review of lecturers' salaries, among other issues Several meetings between ASUU and the federal government have resulted in a stalemate.

As a result, the federal government took the strike to court.

The National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN) ordered ASUU to end its strike on September 21, after which the union filed an appeal seeking a stay of execution of the judgment.

The federal government formally recognized the Congress of Nigerian University Academics (CONUA), a faction of ASUU, on Tuesday.

At an event in Abuja, the minister of labor and employment presented the certificate of registration to CONUA.

The move is thought to be an attempt to lessen ASUU's influence.