There is hope for Nigerian students after the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the House of Representatives, on Monday held a very fruitful meeting on the lingering industrial action by the lecturers.
The lecturers who were led by ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke to the meeting, and the leadership of the House, led by Femi Gbajabiamila, held a closed-door meeting that lasted for about 30 minutes before having another one in front of the camera.
Africa Today News, New York recalls that the House has been hosting meetings between the government and the strike lecturers in the past couple of weeks.
Recall that last Friday, the Court of Appeal agreed with an early ruling by the National Industrial Court that asked the Union to resume immediately.
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It would be recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had during his budget presentation stated that N470 billion has been allocated for tertiary institutions in the 2023 budget.
Speaking on the outcome of the closed-door meeting, Gbajabiamila said President Muhammadu Buhari will make a major announcement regarding the strike.
Also speaking, the Osodeke, said the Union will sign some documents in the next couple of days which they will take to their members for ratification.
The Court of Appeal in Abuja had on Friday ordered the striking lecturers to resume duty immediately.
Counsel for ASUU, Femi Falana, had told Channels Television that the body would call off the strike soon.
“I am reasonably confident that the consultations between the House and the Presidency will yield positive results in the interest of the striking lecturers and the students,” he noted.
The Federal Government had last Tuesday registered two factional academic unions – Congress of Nigerian Universities Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA), a move ASUU declared as illegal.
It would be recalled that the lecturers have been on strike since February 14.