News: Senate Summons Adeosun After Moves To Prevent ASUU Strike Failed

0 KIKI GIST Thursday, November 17, 2016

The Senate has summoned Kemi Adeosun, the Minister of Finance, after attempts to prevent the one-week warning strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Wednesday failed.

The Senate President Bukola Saraki, who presided over a three-hour closed-door meeting with the leadership of the union, refused to speak to reporters after the meeting.

While addressing reporters, the Chairman, Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFund, Senator Jibrin Barau, said the Senate could not stop the warning strike.

He, however, assured that the intervention of the senate would prevent the strike from transforming to an indefinite action.

Baru said the minister of finance has been invited to a meeting with ASUU, the ministries of education and labour on Thursday, November 17, 2016.

His words: “We have had a fruitful deliberation and a way forward has been found by creating a sub-committee of this committee to sit and find out certain things in the Ministry of Finance, which will bring us closer to the resolution of this problem.

“We will start sitting tomorrow (Thursday), including the Minister of Finance (Kemi Adeosun), who has not been able to attend this meeting but we are sure she will be here tomorrow and the Director-General of the Budget Office.

“We have created a template on how to resolve this problem. And you know ASUU is a democratic body, they have to consult. So, it’s ongoing; it’s a work in progress and a very important headway has been created. A good template has been created and we see light at the end of the tunnel.”

The National President of ASUU, Abiodun Ogunyemi, who earlier declined to speak on the outcome of the meeting, later thanked the Senate for its intervention.

He said, “We have discussed and our union will work with him (Saraki). We will do all possible, with the approval of our membership, to get the matter resolved as soon as possible.”