Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, will participate in the nationwide strike called by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC. However, another rival academic staff union in the university system, the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, is yet to take any position on the matter. Speaking on the issue the National Presidents of the unions, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke of ASUU, and Dr Niyi Sunmonu of CONUA, made their positions known.
Osodeke said in response to our correspondent’s enquiries, “ASUU is an affiliate of NLC, hence ASUU will participate in any action of NLC. ” Sunmonu, on his part said, “We are following the development and I have called an emergency meeting of the congress for later this evening. There, we will appraise the situation and decide on what to do next. “ Also the Chairman of ASUU in the University of Lagos, UNILAG, Prof. Kayode Adebayo, said that the NLC and the government have till midnight on Sunday to resolve the issue.
“One cannot say the matter is totally closed now. The NLC and the government have up till midnight to negotiate, one cannot say nothing positive can come out of such. If by that time, they agreed, there may be no need for any strike, but if the logjam remains, all affiliates of NLC would join, ” he said. However, sources in ASUU said the national leadership of the union was holding a meeting on Sunday evening over the issue and the likelihood of going on strike if negotiation between labour and government fails, was high. A former branch chairman of ASUU in a university in Kwara State, said the national leadership of the union was yet to officially communicate the directive to go on strike to members as at Sunday afternoon. “That is not unexpected, they are meeting on the matter and probably waiting if the labour and government could reach an agreement. If nothing of such happens, later tonight, they would send the signal to go on with the strike,” he stated.
