On Monday, Femi Gbajabiamila, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, stated that efforts by the Nigerian government were underway to find a permanent solution to fresh concerns raised by the university lecturers. The lecturers have voiced their dissatisfaction with the current state of affairs in the country.

Gbajabiamila disclosed this information while making a plea to the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to maintain their composure in light of their most recent uproar regarding the payment of half of their salary to them in October. The fact that they were only paid one-half of their normal income for the month of October caused members of the ASUU to express confusion. Following the payment of half of the lecturers' salaries by the government, the leaders of the Union have stated to the journalists that the academics will determine whether or not to restart their strike.

However, the Speaker stated that President Muhammadu Buhari had showed interest in wading into the most recent complaints raised by the union, while simultaneously asking to the academic staff to maintain their composure.

He said, "When the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called off their industrial action three weeks ago, it meant that academic activities could resume in our nation's public universities, and students could return to their academic pursuits after the prolonged interruption." He was referring to the strike that the ASUU had been participating in. This move was widely hailed across the country as being the appropriate one to make.

Since then, both the Executive Branch and the House of Representatives have been hard at work trying to solve the problems that triggered the strike. We are currently working on the Appropriations Bill for 2023, which would include 170 billion naira to offer a level of increase in the welfare package that is provided to university teachers. The measure also includes additional money to revitalize federal universities totaling N300 billion, with the goal of improving both their physical infrastructure and their day-to-day operations.

In addition to this, the House of Representatives has called a meeting with the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and other stakeholders in order to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). Rep. Aminu Suleiman, who is now serving as Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, is in charge of supervising this initiative.

He went on to say, "Notwithstanding, there have been interventions made to explore the idea of partial compensation to the lecturers." We are hopeful that President Muhammadu Buhari, who has expressed his intention to do what is smart and essential to resolve all remaining concerns, would give this proposal a favourable consideration, and we look forward to his decision.

"Implementing substantial change takes time, especially when appropriations and improvements to systems like IPPIS are required. This is one of the many reasons why." For this reason, I strongly encourage all involved parties to exercise patience and accord each other the benefit of the doubt on their level of goodwill to the degree that this will facilitate the accomplishment of our mutual goals. This is not the time to play political games with people's lives.

There is no other purpose that is more essential than eliminating the likelihood of additional disruptions being caused to the academic calendars of the universities. Because these disturbances put at jeopardy the promise and potential of our nation's children, we must do everything in our power to eliminate this danger.

The Nigerian government eventually provided an explanation for why teachers were paid only half of their regular income, stating that the lecturers were paid for the amount of days they worked in the month of October.

Today (Monday), in Abuja, a meeting of the National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Organization of Universities is taking place at the headquarters of the union, which is located on the campus of the University of Abuja.