Strike: ASUU Boycotts Meeting
Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday boycotted a meeting called by the Federal Government to find solution to the lingering strike in the nation’s universities.
In a bid to end the strike, Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, had called for a meeting in Abuja with ASUU leaders, Minister of Education, among others.
ASUU had embarked on indefinite strike on August 13, following government’s failure to implement the agreement reached in Nov. 2016.
ASUU had on August 17, met with the officials of the Ministry of Education and Labour and Employment where it was agreed that the union should consult and revert back to government within a week.
“Today we are supposed to have a formal meeting with the Minister of Education and other stakeholders in the government side and ASUU.
“But we had some new development, which made it mandatory, that we roll over this meeting to the next day.
“Because the government as you know on August 18 gave ASUU an offer, through the Ministry of Education and yesterday when ASUU got back to us, which was late, the meeting has already been scheduled.
“ASUU had gotten back to government to say that they needed us to deliberate on their counter offer before we can have a formalised meeting,” Ngige said.
On what his ministry is doing to resolve the dispute, Ngige said, “That is the position we are now and as I speak, we are having a government side meeting that is being held in my office while the Minister of Education is at another point having a meeting.
“We will reconcile into a full government meeting by 3 p:m today and then formalised our position and look at the ASUU request.
“Then, tomorrow is FEC meeting and we also need council approval for some of the things we are doing.
“This is on what government has decided, thereafter we would speak with ASUU either tomorrow or Thursday whichever is convenient to both parties, ‘’he said.
Also, Mr Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU president in a signed statement said the union had collated the views of its members submitted to government on Aug. 28.
“As we await the Federal Government’s action on our letter, we hope that it would not be long before we receive a positive response which will bring an end to the dispute.’’
