ASUU holds crucial meeting over 12-week strike

Members of the National Executive Council of Academic Staff Union of Universities are currently meeting in Abuja, The PUNCH has learnt.

A member of the NEC told our correspondent that the strike may be extended with the submissions given so far at the meeting.

“We are still meeting. But from the reports given so far, we have no reason to suspend the strike. The Federal Government is not serious,” the NEC member said.

The PUNCH had reported that ASUU had on February 14 commenced a warning strike to press home some demands.

The lecturers asked the government to implement the Memorandum of Action signed in December 2020 on funding for the revitalisation of public universities.

Other demands are Earned Academic Allowances, renegotiation of the 2009 agreement and the deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution among others.

Meanwhile, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, had on Friday stated that the Federal Government and ASUU would resume negotiation this week.

Ngige noted that the multiple industrial disputes in the education sector could have been averted if the unions in the education sector took advantage of his open-door policy like the health unions.

He said, “We don’t have to cry over spilt milk. Let us look at your issues to see the ones we can handle immediately; the ones we can do in the medium term and the ones we can do in the long term.

“There are certain ones that are over and above me that are not in my hands to do.

“My job is to prepare an agreement after conciliation on what you have agreed with your employers, the Federal Ministry of Education, put timelines and monitor them, to see whether the results will be there,” he said.

Details later…