The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) will tomorrow (Thursday) hold the crucial meeting with the Nigerian government.

Thursday’s meeting is at the invitation of the federal government.

Confirming this development, the president of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, said the lecturers are not optimistic about the outcome of the meeting which he said ”will determine the seriousness of the Nigerian government towards ending the strike.” “The government has invited us for a meeting tomorrow, we are not sure of their seriousness because we have been discussing with them for 16 months without any result,” he said.

On the readiness of the lecturers to call off the strike if tomorrow’s meeting swings in their favour, he said “after the meeting, we will tell members the outcome.
They are the only ones who can decide to call off the strike.”

The official also said he is not concerned about the formation of a parallel union by some aggrieved lecturers, ”who have kept on teaching regardless of the strike order.” Some lecturers at the Obafemi Awolowo University under a rival union, Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics have been teaching despite the strike. “ASUU is the only recognised lecturers’ body, some persons are free to show they are annoyed but truthfully, the strike is on and all lecturers have respected it,” the official said.

He also denied rumours that the lecturers have accepted government’s proposal to set up an education bank, which was one of the reasons they went on strike in the first place. “We have not accepted education banking. We were surprised on reports that we accepted it. It is a means to exploit students and make them pay tuition fee. “Some students do not get jobs even five years after graduation and they will be asked to repay a million naira. That is selling them to slavery totally,” he said.

Other demands of ASUU include improved funding of education and improved teaching and learning conditions in the universities.