Earlyface

The Academic Staff Union of Universities in
Nigeria have suspended its five-month old
strike, the News Agency of Nigeria is
reporting.
The union announced the end of the strike
in Minna, Niger state, after its National
Executive Committee agreed on new
funding terms with the Nigerian
government.
The announcement comes with a huge relief
toNigerian university students who have
been out of school since the strike began in
July.
ASUU NEC has therefore directed its
branches nationwide to resume work
immediately and urges the Federal
Government to implement their December
11 resolutions.
The lecturers had long been expected to call
off their strike which commenced on June
28 , after they signed an agreement with the
federal government last week.
ASUU leadership were locked in a marathon
meeting at the Federal University of
Technology Minna between midday on
Monday, and Tuesday morning.
A little after midnight, one of the lecturers
came out of the meeting to address waiting
journalists. He said the union would
announce the outcome of its meeting at a
press conference at noon.
ASUU signed an agreement with the Federal
Government on December 11 after the
presidency presented a proof of payment of
N200 billion into an account with the Central
Bank of Nigeria as part of funding to offset
the lecturers’ demands.
The government has also promised to set up
acommittee to fully implement the
agreement with the union.
The strike by ASUU followed government’s
inability to keep to an October 2009
agreement reached by both parties.
The agreement was reached after two years
of negotiation between the lecturers and a
government team appointed by the then
Education Minister, Obiageli Ezekwesili.
The Government team was led by the then
Pro-chancellor, University of Ibadan, Gamaliel
Onosodewhile ASUU’s team was led by its
then president, Abdullahi Sule-Kano.
The agreement reached at the negotiations
included conditions of service for university
lecturers, funding of universities, university
autonomy and academic freedom, and
issues that required legislation to
implement.
It included details such as the breakdown of
lecturers’ salary structure, staff loans,
pension, overtime, and moderation of
examinations.
Part of the agreement dwelt on funding of
universities where both parties agreed that
each federal university should get at least
N1.5 trillion between 2009 and 2011 while
state universities, within the same period,
should receive N3.6 million per student.
The agreement also had parts that asked the
re-negotiationcommittee to ensure that at
least 26 percent of Nigeria’s annual budget
was allocated to education, and half of that
allocation to universities.
The agreement also asked that the 2004
Joint Admission and Matriculation Board,
JAMB, Act, and the National University
Commission Act 2004, be amended.
Text of the suggested amendment bills –
including suggestion for amendment of the
Education (National Minimum Standards and
Establishment of Institutions) Act 2004 –
were provided in the agreements.
The agreement was signed by Bolanle
Babalakin, the then chairman of Committee
of Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities;
Gamaliel Onosode, chairman of the re-
negotiation committee; and Ukachukwu
Awuzei, the then president of ASUU.
The agreement demanded a heavy financial
commitment from the government and was
an adaptation of an earlier agreement
reached in 2001.
Details later …