Strike: Fed Govt, ASUU peace talks to continue

A SCHEDULED meeting between the Federal Government and striking varsity teachers’ body, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), ended in a deadlock last night.

The meeting which started at about 5pm at the Federal Ministry of Education was called to find a lasting solution to the ongoing strike by the lecturers.

ASUU members embarked on the strike three weeks ago over the poor funding of Nigerian universities and non-implementation of previous agreements by the government.

The union’s National President, Biodun Ogunyemi, told reporters after the meeting that negotiation was still ongoing and that the parties would reconvene at a later date.

“All I can say for now is that negotiation continues and the meeting has been adjourned to a later date,” Ogunyemi said.

The union leader had earlier given the implementation of the 2017 agreement between both parties and the dissolution of the Wale Babalakin –led Federal Government Negotiation Committee as conditions to make the teachers shelve the strike.

The Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Tertiary Education Services, Aminu Suleiman, expressed concern over the lingering ASUU strike during an oversight visit Education Minister Adamu Adamu.

According to a statement issued by the spokesperson Federal Ministry of Education, Ben Goong, the minister told his guests that the Federal Government was determined to “confine the strikes in education sector to the dustbin of history, adding however that funding remains the greatest obstacle”.