ASUU BOSS TO ADDRESS PRESS TODAY

President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Nasir Fagge, is set to address the press today, on the outcome of the two-day National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, held in Kano, at the weekend.

The NEC meeting, was consequent upon the botched one of November 19, which was suspended in honour of the late former president of ASUU, Prof. Festus Iyayi, who was killed on November 19, when the bus he and other members ofASUU from the University of Benin branch were travelling in, had a collision with the convoy of Kogi State governor, Idris Wada, on the Lokoja-Abuja highway.

In a brief telephone conversation with National Mirror yesterday, Chairman of the University of Calabar (UNICAL) branch of the union, Dr. James Okpiliya, said; “ASUU President will address the press today.”

When asked what the fate of university students, who have been at home since July 1 would be, Okpiliya said; “No comment for now on the outcome of the NEC meeting, until our president’s briefing.”

However, another highlyplaced source, who did not want his name in print, told our correspondent that “barring any unforeseen circumstance, and with further assurances from the Federal Government, the strike will be suspended this week.”

His conviction stemmed partly from the fact that “more universities are favourably disposed to ending the strike, by virtue of the results NEC received from local branches.”

It will be recalled that ASUU leadership, upon a marathon meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan, had promised to brief an enlarged NEC meeting, with a view to taking a position on the over four months old strike.

President Jonathan had conveyed Federal Government’s readiness to appropriate N200 billion yearly to the university system for a period of five years, which begins next year.

The bone of contention between the Federal Government and ASUU, has been the 2009 agreement, which includes, but not limited to, the release of N92 billion for what the lecturers called ‘Earned Allowance.’

Interestingly, the Federal Government has released N30 billion for that purpose. This was even as more than N100 billion was said to have been disbursed to the management of public universities to bridge noticeable infrastructure deficits in the ivory towers.

Meanwhile, the Vice- Chancellor of the University of Jos, Prof. Hayward Mafuyai, has faulted the ASUU on the ongoing strike by the union.

Interestingly, the UNIJOS branch of ASUU was among the universities which voted for the continuation of the strike penultimate week.

But the vice-chancellor, who dissociated the university from the branch’s position, said in Jos at the weekend that it was unfair for ASUU to continue with the four-month old strike even when their demands are being addressed by government.

According to him, Jonathan’s administration has demonstrated enough commitment towards addressing the issues involved when it released N30 billion and set up need assessment for the universities, which he said had never been done by any government in the past.