ASUU branches meet nationwide, take different stance on strike

The various local branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, on Wednesday held meetings to vote on whether or not to accept the federal government’s new offer, PREMIUM TIMES can report.
This came on the heels of an earlier report by PREMIUM TIMES where the ASUU president, Biodun Ogunyemi, explained that the body’s National Executive Council, NEC, was yet to meet to review the government’s offer.
The NEC meeting is expected to meet after each local branch of the union submit its stance on the ongoing strike by the lecturers.
PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the meeting is meant to arrive at two possible outcomes, to either vote for the suspension of the strike or its continuation.
Sources within ASUU told PREMIUM TIMES that lecturers at Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba voted to end the strike action., while those of Usman Dan Fodiyo University also voted to end the strike. The lecturers at the University of Lagos reportedly voted for the continuation of the strike action as at the time of filing this report.
The officials at the universities declined comment when contacted. The UNILAG-ASUU chairman, Adelaja Odukoya, confirmed that branches held their meetings on Monday; but declined to divulge the outcome of his branch’s congress.
“It is true. We held congress today although the decision we reached today is a private one,” he said.
ASUU has been on strike since August 13 to protest the poor welfare of members and the underfunding of universities.
The ASUU NEC meeting is expected to be a follow-up to the branches’ meetings after consultations. It is expected that there would be a collation of all branches ‘positions’ with a simple majority taken to decide whether or not the strike will be called off.
Despite the assurances by the Minister of Education, Adamu, on August 17 that the strike would be called off within one week, the strike has now continued for about a month.