ASUU STRIKE: ‘We won’t leave until this strike is called off’ – Jonathan tell ASUU

L-R – President Goodluck Jonathan in a handshake with
the President of Academic Staff Union of Universities,
Dr.Nasiru Isa Fagge. With them is Prof. Biodun
Ogunyemi during the meeting with the President at the
State House Abuja on Monday. PHOTO: AKIN
OLADOKUN.
ASUU STRIKE: ‘We won’t leave until
this strike is called off’ – Jonathan
tell ASUU
NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
President Goodluck Jonathan, on Monday, held a
long meeting with the leadership of the Academic
Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), at the
Presidential Villa, Abuja.
As of the time of going to press around 11.30 p.m,
the meeting, which started around 2.45 p.m, was
still ongoing.
ASUU, it will be recalled, commenced strike to press
home its demands and fulfilment on the part of the
government, the agreement they both signed in
2009.
Leaders of the striking ASUU, on Monday,
abandoned the cozy conference hall of the First
Lady wing of the Presidential Villa, venue of their
meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, to meet
inside a Toyota bus to consider proposal put before
them in a meeting with the president.
They had been locked in the meeting with the
president for about three and half hours before
emerging, only to hop into the bus parked outside
the venue, apparently to have a private discussion
that could not be monitored by government agents.
The initial meeting with the president commenced at
about 2.45 p.m and lasted till about 6.30 p.m, after
which the president left for his residence, while the
ASUU leaders walked out of the First Lady’s wing,
only to enter the parked bus to continue their
deliberation over what had been put before them by
the president.
When State House correspondents made attempts to
get the lecturers to talk, some of them replied that
they would return to continue their discussions
with the president.
They did disembark from the bus after about 24
minutes to return to the meeting and were later
joined by President Jonathan.
The meeting continued till late in the night.
Before the commencement of the meeting, President
Jonathan had, in a lighter mood, told them that all
the contending issues must be resolved during the
meeting to enable students to go back to school.
While exchanging pleasantries with ASUU president,
he said “my president, all the problems will be over
today. Our children must go back to school. With
you here, we are covered. It is signed, sealed and
delivered.”
With President Jonathan were Vice President
Namadi Sambo; Secretary to Government of the
Federation (SGF), Senator Pius Ayim; Coordinating
Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance,
Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; Minister of Labour, Chief
Emeka Nwogu; Supervising Minister of Education,
Nyesom Wike and the Executive Secretary, National
Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius
Okojie.
On the ASUU side were its national president, Dr
Nasir Fagge, Professor Festus Iyayi, Professor Dipo
Fashina and Professor Abdulahi Sule Kano, who
were joined by president of the Nigeria Labour
Congress (NLC), Abdulwaheed Omar; his Trade
Union Congress (TUC) counterpart, Bobboi Kaigama,
among others.
Earlier, a meeting between Senate President, David
Mark and the union leadership did not yield the
desired result.
Mark had been mandated by the Senate, about two
weeks ago, to mediate in the disagreement between
the unversity lecturers and the Federal
Government, over the non- implementation of the
2009 agreement by the government.
Speaking with newsmen after a closed-door session
with Senator Mark, ASUU president, Dr Fagge, said
the intervention by the Senate president was a
welcome development in the effort to get the crisis
sorted out and for the universities to be re-opened.
Before the closed-door meeting, Senator Mark said
“as you are aware, I have been mandated by the
Senate to meet with you and the Federal
Government to resolve this crisis as soon as
possible, so that the children will go back to the
classrooms and I believe that is what you also
want.”
Dr Fagge, on his part, noted that “members of ASUU
are not just lecturers, we are also parents and also
among us, we have students who are pursuing post-
graduate degrees. So this strike directly affects us
negatively.”