Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will call off its seven months long strike, if the Federal government and the Union can achieve concrete agreements.
ASUU president Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke made the declaration Thursday during a town hall meeting tagged ‘The Locked Gates of our Citadels -A National Emergency’ in Abuja.
This is just as the hearing resumes in the suit filed by the Ministry of Labour and Employment against ASUU at the Nigeria Industrial Court resumes Friday.
“On all these issues, we have given the government a minimum that we can accept, but they have not responded on the issue of revitalisation, on the issue of earned allowance and on issues that we have all discussed.
” We negotiated and agreed that they should sign and this is very simple, not more than one day.
” On UTAS and IPPIS, we say release the report of the test you did and let’s look at the one who came first and take it as we agreed.
” So, we have given them the minimum we want and we have to come down and they can do it in one day if there is a will,” he said.
Osodeke, therefore, reiterated the union’s commitment to return to school if the Federal Government puts its proposal on the table, saying that negotiation could be reached if the government was willing.
“If the government loves this country, these children and their parents, then they should come to the table and let us resolve these issues in one day.
“Just as we did in 2014, they should come and ensure that we do that, we can even have the meeting openly so that Nigeria will see what we are discussing,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mrs Vivian Bello, Convener, Save Public Education Campaign, an NGO, pleaded with both parties to resolve the problems saying that the students are not the only people feeling the negative impact, but also the union.
” We are going to play our traditional role which is the role of monitor.
” We are going to keep very strong searchlights on the two actors- both in the government and on ASUU, in order to see that this issue of back and forth is quickly brought to an end the strike will be called-off,” she said. NAN
