Nationwide Strike Looms As ASUU Holds Crucial Meeting

Leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, are expected to convene this weekend to decide if it will proceed on a nationwide strike.

Following its National Executive Council meeting held in July at Nasarawa State University Keffi, NSUK, the academic body asked its branches across the country to conduct a referendum of members to decide if it should commence a nationwide strike or not.

At the meeting this weekend a final decision will be made after a review of the outcome of the referendum is carried out.

The meeting is scheduled to commence today, Friday, and expected to end on Sunday, August 13 in Abuja.

The decision was reached after the deadline given by ASUU to the federal government to meet its demands ended on Friday.

“Until I receive branch decisions, I would not want to speculate, but our decisions will be fully communicated,” ASUU National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, told the Premium Times.

ASUU and the Federal Government have been negotiating since November 2016. The body is reportedly not happy with the poor funding of Nigerian universities and welfare of lecturers across the country.

The lecturers are also demanding that the Federal Government rescue the three abducted lecturers of the University of Maiduguri kidnapped by Boko Haram.

The lecturers were abducted by the terrorist group alongside staff of the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, NNPC, who were part of an oil exploration team at the Lake Chad basin.

Boko Haram later released a video showing the lecturers begging the government to negotiate their release.