Professor Emmanuel Osodeke who is the ASUU Chairman has revealed that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is actually ready to call off its four-month strike despite being blackmailed by the Nigerian Government.
He had made this statement on Wednesday during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
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According to him, the reason for the prolonged industrial action was that the Federal Government did not take aggrieved lecturers seriously.
Osodeke noted that the union was waiting for a positive response from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.“As far as ASUU is concerned, the strike can end tomorrow, we have finished the negotiations, let the government call us this night that we should come tomorrow and sign the agreement, we will be there.
“Let government tell us they have finished testing the UTAS, we have accepted it. By tomorrow, we will call off the strike. We are finished (with negotiations). We are just waiting, and challenging the government.
“When will they sign the agreement, and when will they accept UTAS? Those are the two questions we need to ask the Nigerian government”, Osodeke said.
He also said government has failed to pay the striking lecturers their salaries for the past five months, noting that the tool used as a blackmail to punish the university workers will not work.
The Vice-Chancellor of Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, Prof. Kabiru Bala, had also openly lamented that the strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has completely dampened his spirit.
The Don had made this announcement on Monday at a meeting which had been organised by the Kano Zone of ASUU.
Bala had also noted that the industrial action which has lasted for over 140 days has also affected the economy of host communities.
He had urged the government, ASUU and stakeholders to consider the effect of the strike on the citizens.
