ASUU ends meeting, to brief FG on outcome

Academic Staff Union of Universities has maintained sealed lips on the outcome of its National Executive  Committee meeting held at the Bayero University, Kano, between Thursday and Friday.

The meeting had raised hopes of parents of undergraduates that the lingering strike of lecturers of public universities would be suspended.

However, the union has refused to communicate the outcome of the meeting to the press.

Attempts made on Saturday to get principal officers of ASUU to speak on the meeting proved abortive.

When contacted, the Chairman, Nasarawa State University, Dr. Theophilus Lagi, said only the ASUU National President, Dr. Nasir Faggae, could speak on the matter.

However, several calls to Faggae’s phone went unanswered.

Reporters had on Friday made frantic efforts to locate the venue of the meeting without success.

ASUU had penultimate Tuesday cancelled its earlier scheduled NEC meeting in Kano due to the death of its former president, Prof. Festus Iyayi.

Iyayi died when the vehicle he was travelling with other national officers from Benin to Kano got involved in a crash with the convoy of Kogi Governor, Idris Wada.

Earlier, President Goodluck Jonathan, at a meeting with ASUU leadership, had offered to inject N220bn into the universities yearly for the next five years.

ASUU, at the meeting, promised to take the message to its members across the country.

The meeting was to collate feedback from its various chapters on the fresh offer by the Federal Government.

Investigation  has, however, revealed that the silence by ASUU may be to keep to the assurance it gave to President Jonathan that the body would first brief him on the outcome of its NEC meeting before making it public.

A member of the union’s executive body told  “A promise was made to the President to have him informed before ASUU goes public. That promise will be kept tomorrow when the President comes back.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government on Saturday, again, appealed to ASUU to call off the strike it embarked upon over four months ago in the interest the students.

The Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, made this appeal while speaking with journalists after she was conferred with an honourary Doctorate Degree in Accounting by the Oduduwa University, Ipetumodu.

The university also conferred the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Lamido Sanusi, with an honourary Doctorate Degree in Economics at a ceremony attended by dignitaries, including the Ooni of Ife, Oba Okunade Sijuwade and former Minister of Water Resources, Mr. Bashir Awotorebo.

Okonjo-Iweala said, “I am appealing to ASUU to call off the strike in the interest of the students. The government, on its part, is committed to tackling the rot in the education sector. The Federal Government has acceded to most of the demands made by ASUU.

“Federal Government has set aside N220bn yearly for the development of tertiary institutions in the country. This is part of measures by the President Goodluck Jonathan-led administration to develop the education sector.”

The minister also called on well-meaning Nigerians to invest in the education sector, saying investment in the sector would have a huge impact on the economy.