ASUU strike continues as lecturers’ meeting with govt. hit deadlock

Another meeting between the federal government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) ended on Monday night without an agreement.

The meeting which started at about 5 p.m. at the Federal Ministry of Education was to find a lasting solution to the ongoing strike by the university lecturers.

The union embarked on the strike three weeks ago over the poor funding of Nigerian universities and non-implementation of previous agreements by the government.

Speaking with journalists after Monday’s meeting, the National President of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, said negotiation is ongoing and the meeting would continue at a later date.

“All I can say for now is that negotiation continues and the meeting has been adjourned to a later date,” Mr Ogunyemi said.

The union leader had on Sunday told PREMIUM TIMES that there were two basic conditions that could make ASUU suspend the ongoing strike. One was the implementation of the 2017 agreement between both parties; and the other the disbandment of the federal government negotiation committee headed by senior lawyer Wale Babalakin.

In a related development, Aminu Suleiman, Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Services during an oversight visit to the Minister of Education Adamu Adamu, expressed deep concern over the continued strike by ASUU.

According to a statement issued by the spokesperson Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, Mr Adamu told his guests that the federal government was determined to “confine the strikes in education sector to the dustbin of history, adding however that funding remains the greatest obstacle”.

The lawmaker said there is need for both parties to go beyond resolving the current strike and agree on lasting solutions that will make strikes in the education sector a thing of the past.