The ASUU strike could be suspended this weekend, according to some reports on Friday, while officials have called on the ASUU to end the strike to honor former head Dr. Festus Iyayi, who died earlier this week.
UPDATE: ASUU Won’t Hold NEC Meeting Until After 7-Day Mourning Period
The strike could be suspended on Saturday at an National Executive Council (NEC) meeting amid negotiations between President Goodluck Jonathan and the union, , reported the Osun Defender.
Channels TV reported that 120 ASUU chapters have voted to support ending the four-month-long strike, but the union’s executive body hasn’t ratified the decision to end it. The broadcaster also stated “there are indications” that it might be put to an end.
On Wednesday, the National Executive Council (NEC) suspended a meeting that was held at Bayero University in Kano after Dr. Iyayi died in a road accident. Iyayi was on his way to the meeting when he was killed.
But a Pro-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Senator Effiong Bob, said the strike should be ended to honor Iyayi’s memory.
“ASUU Should call of the strike so that both the union members and students can come and give him the last respect he deserves during his funeral,” he said, according to Channels TV.
In a meeting, Jonathan agreed to promise 1.1 trillion Naira ($6.9 billion USD) for the next five years.
Bukola Saraki, the former Kwara state governor, said the strike needs to end.
“In [Iyayi’s] honor, even if all the terms and conditions for reopening our ivory towers have not been met by the government, you should consider the reopening of the universities,” Saraki said, reported AllAfrica.com.
He made a statement to the government, saying “education should not be toyed with by any government that is intent on developing the country.”
“This is more so for a government that has proclaimed its desire to move the country from the label of a developing one to a developed nation,” he added.
