Latest update on ASUU strike; ASUU vows to continue strike even as coordinating minister of the economy begs

The ongoing strike action embarked by the Academic Union of Universities (ASUU) entered its 146^th day as of today. The strike which started on the 1^st of July this year by ASUU to protest the non-implementation of the 2009 agreement signed between ASUU and the federal government of Nigeria has again currently hit a brick wall as when the strike will be called off.

The first recent set back which we all know by now was the postponement of the ASUU members National Executive Council (NEC) meetingsthat was to be held in Kano to work out modalities and see if they will end the current four and the half month old strike. But as the result of the death of one of the illustrious members of the union in an auto crash, in the person of Late Prof. Festus Iyayi, the NEC meeting scheduled to hold was postponed abruptly and indefinitely, thereby tending to aggravate the already tensed situation in the educational sector and also dashed the little hope seen amongst students and parents who are looking forward to the end of the industrial action embarked by ASUU.

The second and most recent incoming set back with regards to the striking union members was that information recently gathered revealed to us that there was an undisclosed NEC meeting that was held by few members of the union and that the submission they came out with is that the strike should continue. They made mentioned that unless the federal government pays the outstanding four months allowances owed their staff members and in addition to that implement the 1.2trn Naira promised to be pumped into the university system that the strike should continue. They went ahead to request that the sum of 100bn Naira should be released first to them this year, and then the remaining 1.1trn Naira is split and paid to the quarterly, spanning 5 years period.

This was coming in in the heels when even the coordinating minister of the economy who also stands as the minister of finance Ngozi Okonjo Iweala is pleading to the union members to call of the strike in an event held at Oduduwa University, Osun state where the minister together with the central bank governor Sanusi Lamido were later conferred with an honorary doctorate degree of science in accountancy and economics