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By Emmanuel Adeleke
The National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has said that the recent N34 billion released by the Federal Government for payment of minimum wage consequential adjustment was not part of the union’s demands.
Osodeke disclosed this in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Ota, Ogun State, on Thursday.
He said that the Federal Government had not attended to the union’s demands, adding that the strike would not be called off.
The ASUU President, however, sympathised with the students over the ongoing strike, saying that students were suffering for Nigeria’s future and education system.
Osodeke explained that the students were not being punished, but paying the price to ensure that Nigeria had a good education system.
“ASUU sympathises with them, and we believe that with what is going on if we continue with the struggle, we will have an education system where Nigerian students will have the same lecture rooms as their foreign counterparts,” Osodeke added.
ASUU had been on strike since February 14, demanding for an improved welfare package, better working conditions, and the implementation of various labour agreements signed with the Federal Government between 2009 and 2020.
The Federal Government had on Tuesday released N34 billion for the payment of consequential adjustment for the minimum wage of workers in the education system.