By Foluso Adelaja
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU will soon announce the cessation of its eight months old work dispute with the Federal Government and return to the lecture room as it has now reached an understanding with government over the ongoing Strike.
Reports from the University of Calabar Branch of ASUU has confirmed that negotiations of the Union with government has been successful as some understanding has now been reached, while some shifting of grounds has also been made.
However, full details of the agreements between the feuding parties could only be made public by the National Executive Council (NEC).
Addressing newsmen shortly after its Congress at the International Conference centre on Wednesday, October 12, 2022, Chairman ASUU, UNICAL, Dr. Edor John also cautioned that the Federal government should focus on tackling the issues bedeviling ASUU adding that there was no need trying to divide them by registering other bodies or Union with a view of breaking their ranks.
The UNICAL ASUU Chairman said: ” We can’t give you full details of what briefings transpired in Congress, because it is a process that we will collate and analyse at NEC in Abuja on Thursday.
“But it is a process arising from the intervention of the Speaker of the House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, Rt Hon Femi Gbajabiamila to see if there can be an amicable and “Speedy” resolution.
“Some understanding have been reached, some shifting of grounds have been made, so we need to process these at the various organs of the Union and the final resolutions will be taken at NEC when we meet on Thursday,” he said.
Speaking further on ASUU Strike, John said that the branch cannot suspend the strike stressing that only NEC has the power to do so while maintaining that no government official should be thinking of dividing ASUU anymore.
UNICAL ASUU Chairman urged the Federal government to jettison the idea of proscribing ASUU stressing that the University of Calabar does not have any member of the Congress of Nigerian University Academics, CONUA, and doesn’t know of any.
