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Strike: ASUU Commences Two-day Meeting, Takes Final Decision On Sunday

February 12, 2022

A final decision on the looming strike will be reached this weekend as ASUU NEC meets from February 12 (today) and February 13 at UNILAG

The National Executive Committee of the Academic Staff Union of Universities will on Saturday commence a two-day meeting at the University of Lagos, Akoka, to finalise the union’s decision on an impending strike.

 

Members of the ASUU NEC will make the final decision on the strike – to be reached by voting – known at the end of the meeting on Sunday, PUNCH reports.

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This comes amid allegations that the Federal Government refused to implement some of the agreements it had with the union as far back as 2009. 

 

ASUU had on November 15, 2021, given the Federal Government a three-week ultimatum over the failure to meet the demands.

 

The intensity of ASUU’s threat of embarking on another strike was heightened during the week following the union’s directive to its branches to observe lecture-free moments to sensitise the public on its demands and why it could commence another round of industrial action.

 

The union consequently declared Monday, February 9, 2022, as a lecture-free day to mobilise its members ahead of what it described as the longest strike in history.

 

Several chapters of the union embraced the directive and had held several congresses where they told the public to hold the government responsible if the union decides to embark on strike.

 

A final decision on the looming strike will be reached this weekend as ASUU NEC meets from February 12 (today) and February 13 at UNILAG.

 

Meanwhile, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has promised to step into the dispute between the Federal Government and ASUU if the Ministry of Education and the National Universities Commission failed to resolve the issue.

 

He said, “The Ministry of Education is their employer and we have handed over the necessary tools to them. The major issue with ASUU now is the deployment of UTAS which is under the purview of NITDA which is under the Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy. The NUC also has its own role to play.

 

“My role is to play a reconciliatory officer. If their employers and the NUC fail to reconcile them, then I step in as the reconciliatory officer. It’s not more than that. But I know their employers are finding ways to resolve these issues.”

 

National President of Parent-Teacher Association of Nigeria, Danjuma Haruna, appealed to President Buhari to quickly intervene to dissuade ASUU from embarking on a fresh nationwide strike.

 

Haruna made this appeal in a statement on Friday, following recent threats of a fresh strike by many branches of ASUU.

 

The statement read in part, “Embarking on a new nationwide strike would definitely affect the educational system in the country. So many students would be forced to go home thereby increasing social vices in the country. Solving ASUU’s problems would help to improve the standard of education in all the universities across the 36 states of Nigeria.”

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Education