Parents under the aegis of the National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria (NAPTAN) have called on the Academic Staff Union of Nigerian Universities (ASUU) to take the offers by the government first, while pending issues are being addressed.
The National President of NAPTAN, Alhaji Haruna Danjuma, said on Monday that though the expectations of the striking workers might not be fully met, it is better to have something to hold on to than having nothing.
“I have gotten information about what the government is offering, regarding salaries and payment of allowances. As our children have been at home all this while, their future is of essence.
“The Briggs Committee proposed higher salary in the region of over one million naira monthly for a professor, but what is being offered is short of that. The truth is that all the sides cannot get everything they want.
“We are losing lecturers to other nations, while valuable time is wasted on strike. There will always be a middle course to take and my suggestion is that ASUU should take the offers first while other issues are being sorted out,” he counselled.
Meanwhile, the National Executive Council (NEC) of ASUU will meeting on Monday, August 29 to decide on the offers by the Federal Government for it to end its ongoing strike.
According to a reliable source in the union who did not want his identityrevealed, the meeting which was called by local chapters of ASUU promises to be a decisive one.
However, the National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said the union was yet to officially get any offer from the Federal Government.
“We have been negotiating with them through collective bargaining and whatever they have should not be made to us on the pages of newspapers.
“It should be done the way it is expected to be done. Our main problem with the government is that there is trust deficit. They will say something and will do another thing.
“After the Memorandum of Action was signed last year with them, they were supposed to pay some money in two tranches starting from August last year, but they did not do the needful.
“As for other unions suspending their actions, ASUU is not a one man show, we will look collectively at whatever is presented to us. But as at now, nothing has been officially offered,” he said.
However, checks revealed that the coming NEC meeting could lead to the FG coming down hard on the union if it decides to continue with the strike.
The union has been on strike since February 14 and extended it for another month last week which would terminate next Monday.
