All entreaties to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to accept the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information system (IPPIS) as a platform for payment of lecturers fell on deaf ears during the peace move initiated by the House of Representatives to resolve the impasse between the striking lecturers and the Federal Government.
This online newspaper understands that in the third of a series of meetings at the instance of the leadership of the House on Thursday to broker peace, no agreement was reached.
In the meeting that lasted about three hours, it was an atmosphere filled with tension and emotion that led to raised voices and arguments that the Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila, tried to manage rising tempers.
At a point, the leader of the House, Alhassan Doguwa, inferred ASUU was being unreasonable as he said there was no grounds ASUU should reject the options offered by the Federal Government to address the issue.
He said all stakeholders including the House were on one page, while ASUU was on the other.
Doguwa angrily said, “We must have to make progress and progress must have to start from somewhere. We agree you may still have other issues to raise but as long as we are to be guided by the submission of the head of service and the AGF, who said he has the jurisdiction and mandate to come up and address most of the concerns you have, I want to believe the end should justify the means. As leaders of the House, I want to urge you to allow us to make progress and the only way to make progress is for you to compromise and let us start from somewhere.”
