Again, ASUU leaders meet, set to suspend strike

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There is strong indication that academic activities may resume in the nation's public universities early in a few days, our source has gathered. Members of the National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of the Universities again converged on Kano to deliberate on whether to call off their over four months old industrial action or not.

 

The NEC members, who gathered at the Bayero University, Kano, penultimate week to examine the reports of the various university congresses over the strike, suspended the meeting after death of Dr. Festus Iyayi. Iyayi, a University of Benin lecturer and former ASUU president, who died in an automobile accident relating to the convoy of the Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada, on his solution to Kano to go to the NEC meeting.

There's been no date yet for the interment of his remains.

However, feelers from Kano on Friday indicated that the ASUU members went into hiding for the meeting.

One of our correspondents gathered that the NEC members, who reconvened in BUK, on Thursday, retired to a secret position for the meeting.

Reporters made frantic efforts to trace the venue of the meeting without success.But many vehicles owned by the members of the union were seen on campus.

But a member of ASUU NEC, who craved anonymity because he was not authorised to speak on the development, confirmed to the correspondent that the union leaders were converging on Kano for the meeting.

According to him, though the union has lost a respected member and an academic, they were mindful of the feelings of the students and people over the protracted industrial action.

 

He noted that the union's national officers along with other branch chairmen had arrived at the ancient city for the assembly.

However, attempts by our correspondent on Friday evening to reach out to the University of Lagos chapter ASUU Chairman, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, to ensure the meeting failed, as he didn't pick his calls. He also didn't react to the text message delivered to his telephone.

 

Ogbinaka had earlier said the academic community was mourning Iyayi and so was not on the go to fix a new date for the NEC meeting. Calling distinct the union's National President, Dr.Nassir Fagge, also didn't go through.

 

President Goodluck Jonathan had led a Federal Government team that met with the leadership of the union penultimate week. After the discussion, the FG reportedly promised to inject N220bn yearly into people universities for another five years. The brand new offer is to begin from 2014.

 

A majority of the chapters of the union had agreed on the suspension of the strike following the new commitment the leadership of ASUU obtained from the FG.Teachers in the nation's three but 78 public universities embarked on strike on July 1, 2013 to protest the failure of the FG to implement the agreement they signed with the authorities in 2009.

 

The pact largely centered on greater funding of the universities, a declaration of a state of emergency in tertiary education, better wages along with payment of earned allowances to lecturers.