The Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU) has urged the Federal Government to raise the salaries of university professors to N800,000 from the N1.2 million negotiated by the Nimi Briggs committee.
This represents a 50% wage increase offer vs the federal government’s proposed 23% increase.
The committee also established a long-term peace team of elders to resolve the ongoing dispute between the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The Sustainable Peace Team Working Paper, published on Tuesday in Abuja by Professor Michael Faborode, the team’s coordinator and Secretary-General of the CVCNU, reportedly corroborated this.
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The team’s objective, according to Faborode, is to prevent the ASUU strike from continuing because it has taken a tremendous toll on all parties involved as well as the country.
No Vice Chancellor or Pro-Chancellor in active service was included on the final list, according to members of the elders’ peace team of Faborode, and membership was determined based on the CVCNU’s records of service.
The team, according to him, included Dr. Nkechi Nwagogu, a former pro-chancellor at the University of Calabar, Prof. Jibril Aminu, a former vice chancellor at the University of Maiduguri (UNIMAID), Emeritus Prof. Olufemi Bamiro, a former vice chancellor at the University of Ibadan (UI), Prof. Ekanem Braide, president of the Academy of Science, and Prof. Eka (UNICAL).
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Professor Joe Ahaneku, a former vice chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Professor Fatima Mukhtar, a former vice chancellor of Federal University, Dutse, and Professor Akpan Ekpo, a former vice chancellor of the University of Uyo, are the other team members (UNIUYO).
The team also includes Prof. Michael Faborode, a former vice chancellor at OAU and former secretary general of the Committee of Vice Chancellors of Nigerian Universities (CVCNU), and Prof. Yakubu Ochefu.
We shouldn’t let our elders watch helplessly as our “home” implodes around us, he urged. Therefore, we must act or speak now. Other than the academic system, we have no other industry.
It will be worthwhile to make any attempt to persuade all parties to reason and mediate peace using the Prof. Nimi Briggs committee’s proposals as the pivot. There had already been a lot accomplished, and such valiant efforts shouldn’t be neglected or ridiculed.
Faborode stated that the “Peace Team of Elders” would function under the direction of the CVCNU/CPC and noted that agreements have been reached with both the Federal Government and ASUU to accept the independent team of elders’ intervention.
The Team will communicate with the Prof. Nimi Briggs committee to comprehend the rationale behind the aspects of their recommendations, and it will verify with the federal government and ASUU to determine the areas of concern and disagreement.
The team will then strategize about how to deal with the tricky situations and collaborate with all the parties to resolve the impasse amicably in the best interests of all parties and the country.
“The discussions and consultations will primarily take place online using Zoom, with some face-to-face sessions as we advance to save money. But as we move forward, this may be examined.
