THE leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has resolved to reconsider its decision to cripple activities across university campuses nationwide over some pending issues with the Federal Government.
ASUU took the decision after a marathon meeting with government officials led by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, in Abuja on Wednesday, June 26, 2024.
Addressing newsmen at the end of the closed-door meeting, ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodoke, said that a resolution was reached to temporarily halt the planned strike to allow more consultations with relevant stakeholders.
Osodeke said: “We had discussions on all the issues that we previously presented to the government, and we have received some responses from the go officials. So, we will go back and give the detail to our members so they can decide on next line of action.
“What is important is that we have started the process and we hope that we resolve it for the interest of our young ones and the interest of the nation. President Tinubu’s administration has spent one year in office and we have not been called to any formal meeting. Today we are having the first formal meeting.
“There is a process that we have established, and we are going to set deadlines. We are going to meet to look at what has been done on those issues, and we hope the process will continue.”
The ASUU President, who noted that the union received briefings from ministers regarding the actions being taken to maintain industrial peace and harmony in the university system, urged them to ensure actions were expedited to avoid further breakdown of industrial peace in the university system.
Meanwhile, Mamman said the meeting was in response to the recent threat by ASUU to embark on a nationwide strike which could undoubtedly disrupt academic peace in the institutions.
The minister was, however, happy with the outcome of the meeting, particularly the fact that the union understood that some of their demands were not within the purview of the Ministry of Education.
He added: “However, consultations would continue on some items that are beyond the scope of the Ministry which will require that we connect with our colleagues in other Ministries.
“Nevertheless, the meeting also provided the opportunity for us to rub minds on issues affecting the university system in Nigeria. We have a platform where we interact with the university-based unions on quarterly basis and this was part of it.
“We had received a letter from ASUU detailing a number of issues and concerns that affect the universities and the unions which required interaction with government officials through the ministry.”
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