• Governors meet over minimum wage, LG autonomy
Tayo Busayo, Abuja
DAILY COURIER - The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have commenced negotiations to avert the pending industrial action threatened by the university union.
Our Correspondent gathered that the Federal Government delegation, at the closed-door meeting on Wednesday was led by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman.
Mamman was quoted to have said the meeting would provide an opportunity for both parties to deliberate on issues also affecting the university system.
The ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, who led the union’s delegation, told newsmen that the meeting was to deliberate on lingering issues affecting the universities and avoid the planned strike action.
“There are a lot of issues that are outstanding within the system and we believe that before now, they would have been taken care of.
‘The issues would have been resolved in line with the promise made by President Bola Tinubu and there would not be a strike in the university system.
“We hope that this meeting will be able to resolve some of these issues so that we can move forward as a country as well as our university system,” he said.
It would be recalled that ASUU has in recent days, accused the government of failing to fulfil agreements reached with the union and threatened to go on strike once the ultimatum given to the government to uphold its end of the bargain expires.
Govs Meet Over Minimum Wage, LG Autonomy
Governors of the thirty-six states under the umbrella of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) are currently meeting to address the ongoing debate surrounding the new minimum wage proposal and local government autonomy.
Previously, the governors expressed concerns about the Federal Government’s proposed ₦60,000 minimum wage, deeming it unsustainable.
They argued that implementing such a wage would result in many states allocating their entire monthly federation account disbursements solely to salary payments.
The governors have urged the tripartite committee to agree on a fair and sustainable minimum wage.
In response to these concerns, the Federal Government announced on Tuesday that President Bola Tinubu would engage in further consultations before reaching a decision on the new minimum wage.
Another key item on the agenda is the unresolved issue of local government autonomy.
The governors are also set to deliberate on other critical matters of national importance, covering a wide range of pressing issues that impact the country’s socio-economic and political landscape.
This high-level meeting aims to foster collaborative solutions and develop strategic initiatives to address Nigeria’s challenges, with the goal of ensuring a unified and effective approach to governance.
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