Mrs. Zainab Ahmed, the Minister of Finance, stated this at a tripartite meeting between the government and the union in Abuja yesterday, which was organized by Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.

It will be noted that ASUU had given the Federal Government a three-week deadline to honor agreements agreed, or the union would go on strike.

As part of the first tranche of the Universities Revitalisation Fund, the union had asked for the release of N30 billion.

The union also demanded the release of N22.12 billion which is to be paid to its members as earned allowances.

The union also insisted on the implementation of University Transparency Accountability Solutions (UTAS) and a re-negotiation of the 2009 agreement between the union and the Federal Government.

But addressing the meeting, Zainab said the process to meet the demands of the union had commenced and that the monies would be paid before the end of next week.

She said that the efficiency of UTAS was still being verified by the relevant agencies and would be implemented when concluded.

She also stated that the process for the re-negotiation of the agreement between the Federal Government and the ASUU has begun.

Gbajabiamila, earlier, stated that he convened the meeting so that the striking issues might be resolved once and for all.

The implications of halting the educational process, according to Gbajabiamila, are huge, and the unintended effects are much more catastrophic.

“We cannot sit here as leaders and watch things fall apart; education is very important and no amount of money put into it is too much.

“This cannot be a perennial exercise, a strike cannot be a tool we use all the time; it should be the last resort after all other efforts have failed.

“We need to resolve this issue once and for all,” he said.

Prof. Victor Emmanuel, the president of ASUU, said the union had given the government a three-week deadline after which it will go on strike.

He stated that he would relay the information to the union members and would return to the speaker with their responses.