Thursday’s meeting will determine fate of ongoing strike – ASUU
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says it will convene an emergency National Executive Council, NEC meeting on Thursday, to review recent developments, especially the positive response from the federal government to its demands.
Preparatory to the meeting expected to take place at its headquarters in Abuja, the union has directed its zonal branches to collate the views of members through votes during the meetings expected to hold on Wednesday in its various zones across the country.
The outcome of the meeting would result in the suspension of the strike on late Thursday or Friday morning.
This came as a report had emerged in the social media space earlier on Tuesday, claiming that the union had called off the almost 8-month-old strike and subsequently directed members to resume academic activities on October 17.
ASUU president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, while responding to enquiry to that effect, dismissed the report, saying the strike was yet to be suspended.
He, however, said the union was working towards the suspension of the action, saying the action would be dependent on the views of members from the zonal meetings.
The latest action of the lecturers union came following the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila.
The Speaker had on Monday, after a meeting with the ASUU president and other members, assured that the strike would be suspended very soon, saying his meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari over the union’s action was fruitful.
Earlier, a human rights lawyer and counsel to ASUU, Femi Falana (SAN) had also said the union would soon call off its nearly eight-month-old strike.
