Minister of Labour and Employment Chris Ngige on Wednesday said he would not give the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) any excuse to go on strike again.
ASUU suspended its nine-month-old strike on Wednesday, but warned it would resume the strike without notice if the Federal Government does not keep its part of the bargain.
Ngige said during an appearance on Channels Television’s Politics Today that he would ensure the government pays lecturers the agreed N40 billion earned allowance before December 31, 2020.
The minister said, “We will not get to that (fresh strike), we will not get there because we have so structured the agreement in such a way that it is a win-win situation for everybody.
“For example, the revitalisation (fund), we have given government up to 31st of January to pay that. We have also opened the window that by end of February, we will sit down and review the situation, eight weeks or nine weeks from now, so nobody will keep anybody in suspense.
“I will not give ASUU the opportunity to go on strike (again) because I have three biological children that suffered from this imbroglio that we found ourselves in. So, I am a committed parent, I am involved, even more than some ASUU members because some of them have their children in private schools.
“I will not give them the opportunity because I will make sure the government does its own bit. I have structured the agreement in such a way that it is doable.”
