The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU) always seem to be in ‘talks’ with hardly any concrete resolution. However, on Friday, things made headway with regards to unpaid earned academic allowances (EAA) of University teachers.

Reports indicate that the Federal Government has promised to pay N30 billion out of the total N40 billion on or before 6 November, while the remaining N10 billion would be spread equally over two tranches to be paid on May 2021 and February 2022. In a report, Friday, 16 October, Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, stated this at the end of a meeting between both parties in Abuja.

For the longest time, ASUU has had its differences with the Federal Government and Nigerian students have always been the one to suffer the brunt of their constant disagreements. In March, just as Nigeria entered a lockdown phase due to rising cases of COVID-19, the union embarked on strike action over unpaid allowances and the government’s incessant pleas on members of the union to enrol on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

On social media, the announcement got many Nigerians celebrating the progress as a win for Nigerians who have, for nine days been protesting against bad governance with the #EndSARS, #EndPoliceBrutality movement across the country.

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While we may want to celebrate this as a win, the result of the meeting between both parties needs to be monitored closely as this is not the first time the FG has promised to meet the demands of lecturers and failed to meet up.