The statement made by Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), that the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, deceived the union into calling off the eight-month strike prompted the House of Representatives to respond.
Goldennewsng reports that Ben Kalu, the House’s spokesperson, said in a statement on Wednesday that the speaker never promised to pay lecturers in arrears.
It should be recalled that the lecturers’ eight-month strike was called off as a result of the intervention of the House.
Additionally, ASUU had been ordered to put the strike on hold by the National Industrial Court. What’s more, the public authority additionally demanded the no-work-no-pay strategy.
In an interview on Tuesday, Prof. Osodeke stated that Gbajabiamila did not adhere to the agreement she made with the union.
Answering the charge, Kalu said “never did the Speaker of the Place of Delegates resolve to balance the unfulfilled obligations of pay rates owed to patrons for the time they were protesting.”
He stated that the commitments made by the House are reflected in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes N170 billion for university lecturers’ welfare and N300 billion for revitalization funds.
As a result, Kalu said that the President of the ASUU took a “bad-faith approach to negotiations” and that “his affinity for political brinkmanship are significant reasons the universities were on strike for so long.” Kalu added that Kalu had made the accusation.
