As the strike embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) enters its fourth week, the union has vowed not to return to class until its demands are met.
This was disclosed in a statement by the ASUU National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, yesterday.
The lecturers commenced an indefinite strike on November 5 for reasons including government’s failure to adhere to previous agreements and poor funding of universities.
Ten days after the declaration of the strike, the first meeting between the Nigerian government and the lecturers ended without resolution of the dispute.
After the meeting, Ogunyemi said the government appears insincere in relating with the lecturers.
In his statement yesterday, Ogunyemi said the union’s “struggle is still alive,” and the strike would continue.
“We met with the Minister of Education in line with our tradition to honour all invitations with openness to meaningful discussion of issues contained in our demand, so far, nothing concrete has come out of the meetings; rather it is still a projection of their ‘keep-them talking’ culture.
“Our members are enjoined to disregard any information from any source other than the official union source which is the branch chairperson,” he said.
The professor also warned university authorities against undermining the “strike by organising or attending meetings, examinations, lectures, convocations, conferences or other activities during the strike.”
He said any examination taken during this period will be challenged by ASUU after the strike.
“Our commitment and integrity are the basis of our pride as Academics. We must avoid actions that undermine our struggle,” he said.
The strike has forced hundreds of thousands of Nigerian university students to be out of school with many of them complaining about the situation.
