Lecturers reportedly vote for ASUU strike to continue

The National Association of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has reportedly conducted a referendum to decide whether the ongoing strike should be suspended or not.

The referendum was conducted on Tuesday, February 6, 2019, in Ibadan following the directive by the national leaders of the union on Monday, February 5, 2019, to decide on the ongoing strike through a referendum.

According to Punch, over 200 members of the University of Ibadan chapter, who attended the congress allegedly voted for the continuation of the strike while a little above 50 voted for the suspension of the strike.

Federal Government representatives and leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities during one of their meetings to end ASUU strike Pulse Nigeria

Speaking after the referendum, the ASUU chairman, University of Ibadan, Dr Deji Omole said the congress only conducted a referendum on what the Federal government had offered the union to call off the strike, Punch reports.

Omole said that the federal government promised to include the earned academic allowances in their 2019 salaries, adding that FG agreed to release additional N5bn to make the earned academic allowances N25bn out of the N105bn being owed lecturers, but ASUU wants N30bn instead.

Meanwhile, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has declared Operation No Resumption, No Elections ahead of the February 16 general elections.

Danielson Bamidele Akpan: NANS president. ece-auto-gen

The students union in a statement signed by its President, Comrade Danielson Akpan on Tuesday February 5, 2019, said the lingering ASUU strike is a deliberate ploy to disenfranchise students who registered for the elections within their school environments.

Since ASUU declared a nationwide indefinite strike on Sunday, November 5, 2019, public universities in Nigeria have been shut down as lecturers continue to ask government to meet their demands.