ASUU NEC Holds Decisive Meeting On Thursday

The National Executive Council of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, will meet on Thursday in Abuja to adopt a position on the concessions offered by the Nigerian government, PREMIUM TIMES can report. The negotiation team of ASUU had on Friday requested one week to submit the government’s offers to its members for consultation and report back to government. PREMIUM TIMES had earlier reported how branches held congresses on Wednesday with varying decisions on the government offer. A source in the union, who asked not to be named because he was not authorised to speak with journalists on the issue, informed PREMIUM TIMES that the national leadership of ASUU will meet on Thursday to decide whether the strike action be called off or continued. “NEC will hold a decisive meeting tomorrow and will collate the outcome of all branch meetings held,” the source told PREMIUM TIMES on Wednesday. Officials of the union contacted declined to speak on record on the likely outcome of the meeting. The president of the union, Biodun Ogunyemi, did not pick or return calls seeking comments. It would be recalled that the federal government team led by the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, and his Education counterpart, Adamu Adamu, had presented the federal government’s new offer to the union on Thursday last week. ASUU had then promised to get back with a decision within a week on whether the strike will be called off or not. ASUU President, Biodun Ogunyemi, was quoted as saying last week: “Now we have something concrete to present to our members.” The union declared a nationwide strike in August to protest against poor funding of varsities and issues relating to salaries.