ASUU STRIKE UPDATE: VICE PRESIDENT NAMANDI SAMBO HAD A MEETING WITH THE UNION FOR POSSIBLE RESOLUTION OF STRIKE.

Hope of an early resolution of the
strike embarked on by the public
universities lecturers rises as
the Vice-President Namadi Sambo
met with the leadership of the
Academic Staff Union of Universities
in Abuja on Thursday.
The meeting held behind closed
doors had in attendance the
supervising Minister of Education,
Nyesom Wike and the Executive
Secretary of National Universities
Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie.
The union was led by its National
President, Dr. Nasir Faggae, and two
former Presidents of ASUU; Dr. Dipo
Fasina and Dr. Abdullahi Sule-Kano.
Others at the meeting were the
Vice-Chancellors of Bayero University
Kano, Prof. Abdul-rasheed Abubakar;
Prof. Isaac Adewole of the University
of Ibadan; and Prof. Muhammed
Hamisu of the Abubakar Tafawa
Balewa University, Bauchi.

It was however uncertain if
yesterday's discussion was
fruitful as the two parties did not
disclose the outcome of the meeting
which lasted for two hours to
journalists. Fagge, however, told
State House Correspondents that
the union would make its position
known after the National Executive
Council meeting. Wike assured
Nigerians that
students would soon return to
school as government was ready to
make sure all the contending issues
were resolved as soon as possible.
But a source at the meeting, who
pleaded anonymity, however, told
one of our correspondents that
going by the new offers made by the
Federal Government, the strike
might be called off within the next
two weeks.
This, the source said, was because
the Federal Government had agreed
to inject fund to revitalize the
university system. The meeting
went well, the vice-president made
some new offers that were different
from what was on ground before.
For instance, the Federal
Government had agreed to start the
injection of revitalisation fund into
the university system starting with
N100bn this year and N150bn in
2014 and this will continue until
the university system is solid
enough to stand.
The source, however, said that the
ASUU team promised the vice-
president that the union would
make it decision on the strike
known after its NEC meeting
unconfirmed source said had been
scheduled for Saturday.