Don advises ASUU to amicably resolve conflict with FG

Prof. Charles Ayo, the Vice-Chancellor of Trinity University, Yaba, Lagos, has advised the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to amicably resolve its disagreement with the Federal Government.

Ayo, a former Vice-Chancellor of Covenant University, Ota, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday.

He said the resolution of the conflict would be in the interest of the education sector and the country.

NAN reports that the National President of ASUU, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, had on March 9 after the National Executive Council meeting of the union in Enugu announced a two-week warning strike.

The industrial action by the university teachers was in protest  over sundry issues bordering on its Memorandum of Understanding with government and registration on the IPPIS salary platform.

The don, however, noted that the advice became necessary in the interest of the students and Nigerians in general.

Ayo said that the Federal Government would never reverse its decision as a faction of ASUU had registered with IPPIS.

“ASUU is divided on the IPPIS issue as a faction has agreed and registered with the Federal Government.

“I do not see how the other party can get the attention of the Federal Government to reverse its decision.

“It is like the case of a house that is divided against itself,’’ he said.

The vice-chancellor appealed to the other faction to also key into IPPIS policy on the ground of giving it a trial.

Also speaking, Prof. Osabuohien Evans, a professor of Economics at Covenant University, urged both parties to be sincere by coming to a round table in resolving the problem.

The don urged ASUU to focus more on core issues like infrastructure decay across the universities than the issue of IPPIS. (NAN)