ASUU Strike: Nigerian govt holds crucial meeting with lecturers today

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, and the federal government will again meet today, Tuesday, to negotiate ways of resolving the ongoing national strike by the lecturers, PREMIUM TIMES can report.

The meeting was confirmed in a statement issued by the Deputy Director, Press, Ministry of Labour and Employment, Samuel Olowookere, late on Monday.

The statement said the government delegation at the meeting would include the Ministers of Education and Finance; Chairman, National Income Salaries, and Wages Commission; and the Executive Secretary, National Universities, Commission.

The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress is also expected at the meeting.

The ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi, is expected to lead a delegation of lecturers to the meeting scheduled for noon in Abuja

The Nigerian government said it has shown great commitment to resolving the crisis rocking the education sector and still remains committed to solving the issues that have arisen from the lecturers’ agitation

The meeting will be coming after the ASUU leadership held a meeting at the University of Abuja on Friday and Saturday where all its branch chairmen were present to discuss how best to resolve the strike.

When contacted by phone on Monday to comment on the outcome of the meeting, the ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi was non-committal.

“There is no information yet on the strike as at now,” he said.

PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the ASUU meeting, which ended in the late hours of Saturday, had mandated a further meeting with the federal government with a view to resolving the crisis hence prompting today’s meeting

ASUU has been protesting poor funding of universities and other related matters affecting the welfare of its members.

In a related development, PREMIUM TIMES learnt that the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Non-Academic Staff Union and National Association of Academic Technologists held a ‘referendum’ throughout the country on Monday to decide their fate and also the possibility of an indefinite strike action.

The unions are accusing the federal government of negotiating with ASUU alone despite their own welfare demands which have been pending over the years.

They are expected to meet again on Wednesday at the NASU Secretariat in Abuja.