PROGRESS ON ASUU STRIKE

                 After ASUU met with the Federal Government team, led by President Goodluck Jonathan this morning in Abuja, the government promised to inject N220bn yearly into the public Universities for the next five years. As regards that, they held their chapter congresses nationwide between Friday and Tuesday (today) to brief their colleagues, so as to enable them make inputs to their actions in their NEC meeting on Thursday. Some of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, like UI and ABU University Chapters voted for the suspension of the strike during their meetings.

               As at press time on Monday 11th of November 2013, 20 of 28 chapters had supported the suspension of the strike, while the others, like University of Abuja and Nasarawa State University, listed conditions that must be meet by the Federal Government.

                A source at the meeting on Monday said that the congress demanded that the withheld three months salaries of the lecturers must be paid.

• “Members also demanded for commitment on funding. 
• We also want assurance from government that no lecturer will be victimized on the account of participating in the strike.
•  We also asked that the template for sharing the earned allowance should be prepared within the next two weeks,” the source added.
• “We also need evidence that the N200bn that government promised to release this year is in the central bank.

                    Among the universities that supported the suspension of the strike are Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Federal University of Technology, Minna; University of Lagos; University of Ibadan; University of Calabar; University of Port-Harcourt; Federal University of Technology, Akure; Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto;  and Ekiti State University.

                 The list also includes the Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Delta State University; Bayero University Kano; Imo State University; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; and Olabisi Onabanjo University, among others.

                    On the other hand, majority of lecturers at the University of Benin; and University of Jos wanted the strike to continue.

                         However, in the Bauchi zone of the Union, five universities voted for continuation of the state strike, while the remaining three threw their weight against the continuation of the strike.