ASUU STRKE!! Massive jubilation as Buhari finally agrees to meet with striking lecturers

Nov 15, 2018 8:49 AM

Hope is no the rise for a quick resolution of the ongoing strike action embarked upon by ASUU 

after president Buhari instructed the necessary organs of government to meeting the 

academics so as to find a lasting resolution to the industrial action.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it is ready to commence negotiations 

with the Federal Government to resolve the ongoing strike. ASUU President, Prof. Biodun 

Ogunyemi, disclosed this to newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja.

Ogunyemi said that meeting with the Federal Government delegation has been scheduled for 

Thursday, one o’clock at the instance of the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu.

According to him, the N200 billion released by the Federal Government in September 2018 is 

not an issue but that N200 billion ought to have been released in October 2017 as part of the 

2013 agreement.

“It would be recalled that the Federal Government had agreed to inject N1.3 trillion to fund 

universities at N220 billion yearly for five years.

“

If government fails to fund public universities the situation on campuses may degenerate, 

worse than the already poor quality teaching and learning environment,’’ he said.

The ASUU president, however, insisted that the ‘No work no pay’ threats by the government 

would not affect the lecturers as the industrial action was legal in Nigerian labour law and 

international conventions, which Nigeria is signatory.

He added that ASUU is hoping that the meeting scheduled for Thursday will be used to resolve 

the issues at stake and not to continue to raise alarm that past administrations made bogus 

agreements with the university lecturers.

It would be recalled that the striking lecturers had resumed their strike on November 5 to press 

home their demands.

Some of the demands are that the Federal Government should nominate another chairman of 

the government renegotiating team of the 2009 ASUU/Federal Government Agreement.

ASUU had rejected Dr. Wale Babalakin led renegotiating team.

Other demands are non-payment of earned allowance, funding of revitalisation of the Nigerian 

universities, implementation of needs assessment report, poor funding of state universities, 

among others.

It there hoe that the current strike action will end on time or will it lead to another lengthy round 

of negotiations with both sides not willing to concede any ground?

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