The House of Representatives has responded to the allegation by the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, that the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila Femi Gbajabiamila deceived the union to call off the strike.
The speaker never guaranteed the lecturers’ payment of arrears, according to a statement made by the House’s spokesperson, Ben Kalu, on Wednesday.
As was previously mentioned, the House’s involvement caused the lecturers’ eight-month strike to be called off.
The National Industrial Court had also ordered ASUU to terminate the strike. Additionally, the government pushed on its no-work, no-pay policy.
In an interview on Tuesday, Prof. Osodeke claimed that Gbajabiamila had broken the terms of the settlement made with the union.
In response to the claim, Kalu stated that the House of Representatives’ Speaker “never committed to offset the arrears of salary owed to union members for the time they were on strike.”
He said that the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes N170 billion to give an increase in the welfare package for university academics and an additional N300 billion in revitalization funds, reflects the House’s commitments.
Kalu, therefore, accused the ASUU President of “bad-faith approach to negotiations”, adding that “his affinity for political brinkmanship are significant reasons the universities were on strike for so long.”