Hope of an early resolution of the
strike embarked on by the public universities’ lecturers rises as the
Vice-President Namadi Sambo met with the leadership of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting held behind closed doors had
in attendance the supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike and
the Executive Secretary of National Universities Commission, Prof.
Julius Okojie.
The union was led by its National
President, Dr. Nasir Faggae, and two former Presidents of ASUU; Dr. Dipo
Fasina and Dr. Abdullahi Sule-Kano.
Others at the meeting were the
Vice-Chancellors of Bayero University Kano, Prof. Abdulrasheed Abubakar;
Prof. Isaac Adewole of the University of Ibadan; and Prof. Muhammed
Hamisu of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi.
It was however uncertain if yesterday’s
discussion was fruitful as the two parties did not disclose the outcome
of the meeting which lasted for two hours to journalists.
Fagge, however, told State House
Correspondents that the union would make its position known after the
National Executive Council meeting.
Wike assured Nigerians that students
would soon return to school as government was ready to make sure all the
contending issues were resolved as soon as possible.
But a source at the meeting, who pleaded
anonymity, however, told one of our correspondents that going by the
new offers made by the Federal Government, the strike might be called
off within the next two weeks.
This, the source said, was because the Federal Government had agreed to inject fund to revitalize the university system.
“The meeting went well, the
vice-president made some new offers that were different from what was on
ground before. For instance, the Federal Government had agreed to start
the injection of revitalisation fund into the university system
starting with N100bn this year and N150bn in 2014 and this will continue
until the university system is solid enough to stand.
The source, however, said that the ASUU
team promised the vice-president that the union would make it decision
on the strike known after its NEC meeting unconfirmed source said had
been scheduled for Saturday.
Culled from Vanguard
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