The National Executive Council, NEC of Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU has fixed a date to take final decision on the lingering strike.
DAILY GIST gathered that ASUU leadership will meet on Sunday, August 28, 2022, to decide on whether to call off or continue with the strike.
According to the union, it will take a decision on the industrial action based on reports from the various state congresses.
The meeting promises to be a decisive one and may determine whether the government would axe the union as being contemplated.
The meeting will hold at the union’s national headquarters at the University of Abuja.
The proposed meeting is coming on the heels of reports of alleged plans by the Federal Government to proscribe ASUU and drag it to the National Industrial court over strike action.
The NEC meeting could lead to the Federal Government coming down hard on the union if it decides to continue with the strike.
Speaking on the development, the National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said the union was yet to officially get any offer from the government’s side.
He said: “We have been negotiating with them through collective bargaining and whatever they have should not be made to us on the pages of newspapers. It should be done the way it is expected to be done.
“Our main problem with the government is that there is trust deficit. They will say something and do another thing.
”After the Memorandum of Action was signed last year with them, they were supposed to pay some money in two tranches starting from August last year, but they did not do the needful.
“As for other unions suspending their actions, ASUU is not a one man show, we will look collectively at whatever is presented to us. But as at now, nothing has been officially offered.”
The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu had said it is the responsibility of the Academic Staff Union of Universities to compensate students for the time wasted during the six-month strike, not the federal government.
He also said the government will not concede to the union’s demand to pay lecturers their emoluments for the six months of no academic activities, insisting on no-work no-pay policy.
He suggested that the affected students should “take ASUU to court” to claim damages incurred over the strike period.
DAILY GIST reported that ASUU had commenced nationwide strike on February 14th 2022, citing different demands which the FG had failed to meet as its reasons.
Some of the demands include, payments of salary arrears, better working conditions, renegotiation of the 2009 FG-ASUU agreement, payment of earned academic allowances, funds for the revitalization of public universities, promotion arrears, and poor funding of state universities.
