ASUU insists on nationwide strike after meeting with FG

Lecturers in the country have insisted on nationwide strike after an emergency meeting with the federal government on Wednesday evening.

The meeting, Politics Nigeria understands, was held to avert the planned strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

But speaking on Thursday, ASUU president Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, noted that the union is still considering the nationwide strike over pending issues.

Osodeke said the decision was taken after a closed door meeting with the officials of the Federal Government led by the Ministers of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman and Dr. Tanko Sununu, in Abuja, on Wednesday.

Prof. Osodoke maintained that they had resolved to temporary halt the planned strike for some time to allow for more consultations with relevant stakeholders.

“We had discussions on all the issues that we previously presented to the government, and we have received some responses from the government officials. So, we will go back and give the detail to our members so they can decide on next line of action,” Osodeke said.

“What is important is that we have started the process and we hope that we resolve it for the interest of our young ones and the interest of the nation. President Tinubu administration has spent one year in office and we have not been called to any formal meeting. Today we are having the first formal meeting.

“There is a process that we have established, and we are going to set deadlines. We are going to meet to look at what has been done on those issues, and we hope the process will continue.”

Osodeke confirmed that they received briefings from the ministers regarding the actions being taken to maintain industrial peace and harmony in the university system, demanding that actions were intensified to avoid further breakdown of industrial peace in the university system.

Meanwhile, the minister expressed satisfaction with the outcome of the meeting, particularly the fact that the union understood that some of their demands are not within the purview of the Federal Ministry of Education.

“However, consultations would continue on some items that are beyond the scope of the ministry which will require that we connect with our colleagues in other ministries,” he said.

“Nevertheless, the meeting also provided the opportunity for us to rub minds on issues affecting the university system in Nigeria. We have a platform where we interact with the university-based unions on quarterly basis and this was part of it.

“We had received a letter from ASUU detailing a number of issues and concerns that affect the universities and the unions which required interaction with government officials through the ministry,” the minister noted.