Fresh strike looms in universities as ASUU holds NEC meeting

As the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, holds its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Calabar, Cross River State, there is a tangible fear of new strikes in Nigeria's public universities.

The meeting began on Saturday, November 3, according to information obtained by DAILY POST, and it is still going strong as of the time this article was filed.

ASUU and the Nigerian government are engaged in a labor dispute over unmet promises and the government's persistent unwillingness to pay its members the eight-month salary that was withheld during the Union's most recent industrial action.

Remember that the Union ended its eight-month strike on October 14, 2022, thanks to the intervention of Femi Gbajabiamila, Speaker of the House of Representatives.

For the time that university employees were away from their job positions, the government persisted in enforcing the "No Work, No Pay" policy.

The union is currently meeting, according to a member of the ASUU's NEC who spoke with the DAILY POST from Calabar, the state capital of Cross Rivers.

“Yes, we have been meeting, and the meeting is still ongoing. There is no picture now because no decision has been taken.

“The issue is that we are just taking reports; for now, we have not reached the issue of withheld salaries,” he said.

Meanwhile, ASUU had last week mandated its members to protest over the issue of eight-months withheld salaries.

DAILY POST reported that ASUU members at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and University of Ibadan (UI), amongst others, joined the protest to press home their demands.

ASUU, however, ordered its members to protest last week over the matter of eight months' worth of unpaid salary.

According to DAILY POST, ASUU members from universities such as the University of Ibadan (UI), University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), and University of Lagos (UNILAG) joined the protest to make their demands known.