ASUU And Federal Goverment Move To End Strike In Two Weeks

An end appears to be in sight to the  nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities as parties involved in the dispute are said to have reached understanding.

A source in the Ministry of Education told our correspondent in Abuja on Wednesday that the Federal Government was putting finishing touches to meeting some of the “reasonable” demands of ASUU.

The source, who craved anonymity because he was not authorised to speak to the media on the issue, noted that government was determined to end the deadlock within a “week or two.”

He explained that most of the issues would have been resolved before now but for the nationwide strike embarked by Labour and civil society groups over the removal of fuel subsidy.

He said “On our part, we have been working round the clock to end the strike, which we are hopeful will end within a week or two at the most.

“I can confirm to you that government has already agreed to meet some of the reasonable demands of ASUU like the reconstitution of boards and councils and the issue of the legal framework regarding the retirement age of Professors and the like. We are making reasonable progress.”

National President of ASUU, Prof. Ukachukwu Awuzie, in a separate telephone interview with our correspondent in Abuja, confirmed that progress was being made.

He explained that discussions started before the  nationwide strike began.

According to him, the leadership of ASUU has met with government at the ministerial level as well as at the level of the Secretary to the Government of the Federation.

He said, “Some understanding has been reached. Every party is interested in ending the dispute and we are working towards achieving this.”