Strike: ASUU Fixes Date To Consider Buhari Govt’s Offer

The National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is set to meet on Sunday, August 28, to consider the offers by President Muhammadu Buhari’s government for it to end its ongoing strike.

According to the source, the meeting will be held at the union’s national headquarters at the University of Abuja.

The council members are expected to act based on the reports submitted by various chapters of the union.

Recall that ASUU, who had been on strike since February 14, had three weeks ago extended it for another four weeks that would terminate next Monday.

It was gathered that the meeting of ASUU’s NEC may also determine whether the present administration would penalise the union.

The union had demanded the renegotiation of the ASUU-FGN 2009 agreement; the release of revitalisation funds for universities; the deployment of the University Transparency Accountability System for the payment of salaries and allowances of university lecturers; the release of earned allowances; and the release of the white paper report of the visitation panels to universities.

The source, while speaking on the forthcoming meeting, said, “The NEC meeting will hold on August 28, the four weeks ultimatum that we gave is expiring that same day. We will be making our decisions based on the results of the state congresses.

“The NEC has to depend on the result of the congresses. The zones have held their congresses; the branch chairmen will also talk to their members and they will get feedback which will be transmitted to the NEC.”

Speaking to Vanguard, the National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, said his union was yet to get any offer from the Buhari government officially.

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 a trust deficit. They will say something and will 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 of now, nothing has been officially offered.”

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