ASUU Strike: Nigerian govt resumes talks with striking lecturers

The federal government on Tuesday resumed talks with the leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the ongoing strike in public universities which entered a month today.

The crucial meeting has in attendance the national president of the union, Biodun Ogunyemi, who led the union’s delegation.

The meeting is taking place at the Federal Ministry of Education in Abuja.

Also present are the education minister, Adamu Adamu; the permanent secretary, Sunny Echono; representative of National Universities Commission and representative from the National Income, Wages and Salaries Commission.

Speaking with PREMIUM TIMES briefly, the president of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Danielson Akpan, who was present at the meeting, said the two parties need to consider the interest of the students in their deliberations.

“My fear is that these politicians can give a ‘political response’ and may not meet the conditions again,” Mr Akpan said.

The NANS president confirmed that the meeting started a few minutes past 2 p.m.

The union embarked on strike on November 4 over the poor funding of Nigerian universities, an alleged plan by the federal government to increase students’ fees and introduce an education bank, as well as non-implementation of previous agreements.

More to come…