Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Nigige, said on Wednesday, that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) cannot claim to be autonomous when lecturers are paid by the government.
He said autonomy can only work when a university internally generates its resources to pay workers and meet its obligation.
Ngige spoke while defending his ministry’s budget before the Senate Committee on Labour and Employment.
Striking lecturers have refused to call off their seven-month strike because of disagreement with the government over the Integrated Personnel Payroll System (IPPIS).
ASUU claimed that enrolling on the platform would erode the autonomy of the university system.
In addition to that, Ngige said the Federal Government has met most of the union’s demands.
“Out of the eight demands of ASUU, the government has solved five. We have made N50 billion available; N20 billion for the revitalisation of the universities and N30 billion for Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
“The union agreed and went back to their members, only to return and say that the money for EAA should be for ASUU members alone, excluding other unions, namely, SSANU, NASU and NAAT,” Ngige said.
