As the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) again failed to reach an agreement and suspend the three month old strike on Friday, February 1, 2019, another meeting has been scheduled to hold on Thursday, February 7, 2019, by both parties to resolve the strike.
The next meeting would be the tenth meeting between the government and ASUU leaders since the lecturers announced a nationwide indefinite strike on Sunday, November 4, 2018.
All the earlier meetings failed to produce any concrete resolution as both parties end the meetings only to call for another meeting.
On Friday, February 1, 2019, Senator Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment after a closed door meeting with the lecturers said the meeting was protracted, adding that the government had offered the lecturers something reasonable.
Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige
“The meeting was protracted, but the good news is that we have gotten to the end of the tunnel.
“We met them halfway and we have finished the gray areas and on the issue of N50 billion, we have offered what we have.
“We do not have N50 billion and we cannot do N50 billion, but we have offered them something reasonable.
“So they have to take it back, and go and present to their members,” the minister said.
The minister however expressed hope that the students whose schools have been shut down for three months would soon resume to school.
Also speaking after the meeting, ASUU National president, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi said the union members present at the meeting need to return to their colleagues to present the details of the meeting to them before they can decide on the next step to take on the ongoing strike.
Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU President
He said, “So, far on the level of progress made so far, I cannot tell you that now until I tell my members.
“It is the feedback of the last meeting we came to present to government today.
“But right now, we have a new set of information that we have to go and present to our members. Until we tell our members, we cannot tell you.”
ASUU declared an indefinite nationwide strike on Sunday, November 4, 2018 at its NEC meeting held at the Federal University of Technology, Akure and since then, both the union and the Federal Government have been going back and forth to resolve the crisis.
