Ngige, the labour minister, is charged by ASUU of lying and spreading uncertainty.
by Ebor Cletus Ralph Jr
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has blasted Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour, for allegedly misinforming Nigerians on the status of the union’s current strike.
The statement was made by Emmanuel Osodeke, president of ASUU, during a Channels TV interview on Friday.
Following the Labour Minister’s statement that the government would meet with the striking union on June 23, 2022, Osodeke voiced his disapproval.
The union president rejected the information as false and added that no contact had been made regarding the alleged meeting.
He berated the Labour Minister for causing needless confusion in the subject and added that because of his lack of reliability, things got worse.
“We were never invited to any meeting as of yesterday. Nothing was sent to us. Not even virtual notice. So we’re surprised how he arrived at that conclusion. The problem with this system, especially the Minister of Labour, is the issue of trust.
“If you can and tell the world that you fixed meeting with ASUU for Thursday 23 and you didn’t fix any meeting, how do you expect people to believe other things you’re saying. It’s the issue of trust. That’s the question we should ask ourselves.
“The Minister of Labour was active in this issue sector until he started pursuing his political career. And he told directly, through the press, that we should go back to our Minister of Education who is our employer to resolve the issue. We went to the Minister and met several times on real negotiations. They promised to get back to us.
“So we have been relating to the Minister of Education through a committee he set up and making some progress in that direction. So we’re surprised the Labour Minister was coming out again and telling the world what’s not correct. He should leave us alone and let us focus on real issues.”
On February 14, ASUU began a 30-day warning strike in protest of the federal government’s disregard for the deal that both sides had signed. Since then, the union had twice extended the strike.
