Addressing reporters on Wednesday June 22, Ngige had said the federal government will soon resolve issues on the strike by ASUU. He also said concerns over payment platforms will be addressed with the union and other stakeholders in the next meeting fixed for Thursday.

Reacting to the claim in an interview on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday June 24, Osodeke said the union did not receive any letter of invitation from the minister.

He also called for Ngige’s removal from the negotiation process for allegedly worsening the situation.

Osodeke said;“We were not invited to any meeting. None of our members were invited. We have a secretariat but we never got any invitation from them.

“The problem we have with this government, especially with the minister of labour, is that if you can tell the world that you have fixed a meeting which you didn’t, how do you expect us to believe other things you have said? He should confirm to the world that he sent an invitation to ASUU for a meeting on Thursday. The minister of labour should leave us to deal with the minister of education. He was the one that made this matter worse to this extent. He was the one that decided to use hunger as a weapon, when he said no work no pay.”

He said the government’s plan was to open an education bank and give each student a loan of N1m annually at a five per cent interest rate to sponsor themselves in school and then pay back when they graduate and start working.

Osodeke stated this while answering questions from participants at a one-day ‘state of the national summit’ organised for ASUU members by the Bauchi zone of the union.

He said, “At the last negotiation, the first thing they told us was that we should negotiate for our allowances and salaries but we said no, let’s discuss funding first. When we know how much you’re going to pay, then we can negotiate salary. Reluctantly, they went on. Then, they raised another issue which was why we delayed for four years, that students must pay N1m as school fees every year; the government said 70 per cent will be paid to the university while the student keeps 30 per cent. We asked them where and how the students would source the money and they told us not to worry. They said they would open an education bank and the students would go there and take the N1m every year. And by the time you are graduating, you would have been owing N5m or N6m. If it takes you 20 years to get a job, that five per cent interest on that loan would be building. We said we will never allow that, and that was why we went on strike and we delayed in calling off the strike. If we had accepted that students pay N1m as school fees, they would have increased our pay easily and who would the public and the students blame? It is ASUU.”

Osodeke said that if they had accepted the offer, people would have accused them of fighting for their personal interests and not the collective good of Nigerians.