ASUU STRIKE: Nigeria Universities To Open Next Week With Or Without ASUU

In a last ditch effort to resolve the ASUU strike, President Goodluck Jonathan will on Monday, November 4, meet with the leadership of ASUU at the Presidential Villa. This was part of the resolutions of the meeting between the ASUU leadership, Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Supervising Minister of Education on Tuesday as was first reported by this medium. An official of the Vice President’s office who pleaded anonymity said that all hands are now on deck to ensure that the universities resume next week. The official stated that the Vice President and the Supervising Minister of Education have made head-way in resolving the strike, but the final involvement of the President is to show ASUU that there is the commitment of the Federal Government at the highest level. It was learnt that the President has been fully briefed on steps taken by Vice President Namadi Sambo and the Supervising Minister of Education to get to this point and he will at next Monday’s meeting present to the ASUU leadership the administration’s last concession for them to call off the prolonged strike. A source at the Presidential Villa noted that if ASUU fails to call off, the Federal Government will then resort to plan B, which will be to compulsorily open the universities, using the instrumentality of the governing councils and the school managements. Already, most of the governing councils of the universities have started meeting to work out modalities for the compulsory re- opening of the universities should ASUU fail to honour the personal request of President Jonathan. According to report, the Supervising Minister of Education, Barr. Nyesom Wike and the Vice Chancellors of Public Universities also discussed the re-opening of the schools last Monday. Most of the Vice Chancellors suggested the compulsory re-opening of the schools, should the last ditch efforts fail. It was gathered that security report available to the Presidency may have necessitated this line of action to salvage the universities system from the direction it is facing at present. Source: The Nigerian Voice