There was an angry moment of argument between the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige and the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke during a negotiation meeting facilitated by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
It has been reported that all stakeholders were properly represented at the meeting summoned as part of efforts to find a solution to the lingering ASUU strike which has kept the students of Nigeria’s public universities at home since February 14.
The various stakeholders including the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha made various submissions on how to resolve the lingering crisis.
The SGF asked to be represented at subsequent meetings by a presidential aide, Dr. Habiba Lawal.
Other stakeholders that made presentations at the meeting included the Director-General of the Budget Office, Ben Akabueze, the Accountant-General of the Federation, OkolieAboh Sylva, and the Director Infrastructure of the (National Information Technology Development Agency) NITDA, Abdullahi Usman who all opposed the use of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) being proposed as a payment platform by ASUU as against the (Integrated Payroll and Personnel information system) IPPIS.
The Storm
However, in the cause of the meeting, Ngige accused the ASUU president of saying the All Progressives Congress (APC) government had kept children at home and that the Nigerian people should vote them out.
The accusation by the Minister was however refuted by the ASUU camp and some others at the meeting.
The accusation also infuriated the ASUU leadership and led to a rowdy session in which Ngige was called a liar who is fond of misinforming the public by Prof. Osodeke.
The Minister however walked out of the meeting even as both of them continued exchanging heated words.
Watch the video below…
Video source: CHANNELS NEWS
