FG, ASUU Strikes New Deal

The Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) struck a new deal last night. This happened at a three-hour close-door meeting at the State House in Abuja between Vice President Mohammed Namadi Sambo and the leadership of the union. Speaking to State House correspondents after the meeting, ASUU President Nasir Isa Fagge said the union had got a message from the government and would meet its members “and get back to the government”. Fagge, however, refused to dis-close the details of the new “message”. On whether there is a possibility of calling off the strike soon, he said “as a good messenger”, he would only report back to “the larger ASUU”. Also speaking, Supervising Minister of Education Nyesom Wike, who was at the meeting, assured that the strike would soon end as the government was ready to resolve all the issues that led to the industrial action. Also at the meeting were the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Com-mission (NUC), Professor Julius Okojie, as well as Vice Chancellor of the Bayero University Kano, Professor Abdulrasheed Abubakar, and his counterparts Isaac Adewole of the University of Ibadan and Hamisu Muhammed of the Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University, Bauchi. Former ASUU presidents Dr Dipo Fasina and Dr Abdullahi Sule-Kano were also in attendance.