ASUU: Gbajabiamila calls for Calm

STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, REP. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA ON THE
RESOLUTION OF OUTSTANDING ISSUES BETWEEN THE
ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES (ASUU)
AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA.
Monday, 7th November 2022

1. When the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called off
   their industrial action three weeks ago, it meant that academic
   activities could resume in our nation’s public universities, and
   students could return to their academic pursuits after the prolonged interruption. This decision was rightly heralded nationwide as the correct decision.
2. Since then, the Executive and the House of Representatives have
   worked to address the issues that led to the strike. We are currently
   working on the 2023 Appropriations Bill, which includes the sum of one hundred and seventy billion naira (N170,000,000,000.00) to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of University lecturers. The Bill also includes additional three hundred billion naira (N300,000,000,000.00) in revitalisation funds to improve the
   infrastructure and operations of federal universities.
3. Furthermore, the House of Representatives has convened the
   Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other stakeholders to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and
   Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). This effort is being
   supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary
   Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.
4. The Executive position that it is not obligated to pay salaries to
   lecturers for the time spent on strike is premised on the law and the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and
   discouraging disruptive industrial actions. Nonetheless, interventions have been made to explore the possibility of partial payments to the lecturers. We look forward to a favourable consideration by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR who has manifested his desire to what is prudent and
   necessary to resolve all outstanding issues.
5. Implementing meaningful change takes time, especially when
   appropriations and modifications to systems such as IPPIS are required. Therefore, I urge all parties to be patient and grant each other the presumption of goodwill to the extent necessary to achieve our shared objectives. This is not a time for political brinkmanship. There is no more pressing objective than to
   preclude the possibility of further disruptions to the academic
   calendar of the universities. We must prevent this possibility by all
   means, as these disruptions risk the promise and potential of our
   nation’s youth.
6. Three weeks ago, I called for a national conversation on the
   substantive reforms required to address the underlying issues
   bedevilling public tertiary education in Nigeria. To that end, the House of Representatives is convening a National Summit on Tertiary Education Reform. We have called for papers and memoranda from members of the public. The submissions we receive and expert presentations at the Summit will inform our policy recommendations and actions. I urge all citizens and
   stakeholders to participate in this crucial effort to reinvent our public tertiary institutions into respected citadels of learning.
7. God bless and keep you all, and God bless our Federal Republic of Nigeria.

REP. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA
Speaker, House of Representatives