It was dubious on Saturday whether the Academic Staff Union of Nigeria Universities would cancel its five-month-old strike, regardless of the Federal Government's Monday final proposal.

There were theories that the college speakers would suspend the strike after the entombment function for an ex-ASUU President, Prof. Festus Iyayi, who was slaughtered in a mischance including the Kogi State senator's guard.

The Chairman, ASUU, University of Benin, Dr. Tony Monye-Emina said, "The strike has not been canceled.

The power (of the establishment) is succeeding government's mandate; we are not moving our stand. It is not a neighborhood strike. "It is not genuine we are canceling the strike. By what method would we be able to be holding a gathering today? The entombment is going on and it proceeds tomorrow (today)."

Likewise, ASUU in Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ogun State, promised not to comply with government's request that instructors ought to profit to classroom for Monday.

The Chairman, ASUU, OOU part, Dr. Nasir Adesola said the teachers would not succumb to dangers by government to sack them. Adesola, who is likewise the South-West Coordinator, ASUU, focused on that since the instructors did not go on strike in the first case due to government, they would not come back to work by pressure from government.

He expressed that the instructors would just about-face to the classroom when the administration had taken care of their requests.

"We didn't go on strike due to government request. The explanations behind which we set out on the strike have not been released by the legislature. Those requests of government are simply some piece of official neglectfulness. We are not coming back to chip away at Monday," Adesola said.

Also, the ASUU Chairman in Enugu State University of Technology, Prof. Chatter Agu, said teachers would not continue on Monday.

He said it was talk that the union would call of the strike. He expressed that the National Executive Council of ASUU would meet and concur before the strike could be canceled.

Same with ASUU in the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, where the Chairman, Dr. Ifeanyi Abada, said just the ASUU NEC could advertise the suspension of the strike.

The Governing Council of the University of Ibadan had on Friday, in light of the mandates of the Committee of Pro-Chancellors of Federal Universities and the National Universities Commission, said the foundation would be re-opened on January 4, 2014.

In the authority release of the college, which was marked by its Registrar and Secretary to the Council, Mr. Olujimi Olukoya, the chamber clarified that the re-opening got essential in perspective of the thought of all matters identifying with the on-going ASUU strike, at its late gathering.

Students of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife have been asked to resume on Sunday, December 8. In a press statement signed by the Public Relations Officer of OAU, Mr. Biodun Olarewaju, it was noted that lectures would commence immediately after the resumption. “The authorities of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, have announced Sunday, 8th December, 2013 as the resumption date for the 2012/ 2013 rain semester. Accordingly, students of the university are expected to come into residence on the above date as lectures will commence immediately.” The statement reads.

Federal government has extended the deadline on an ultimatum issued to striking university lecturers, asking them to go ‘Back to Class’ on December 4 or face being sacked.

With the deadline extended to December 9, lecturers are no longer expected to resume duties as required by the seven-day ultimatum issued by the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, on November 28.

The Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Professor Julius Okogie, told journalists in Abuja on Tuesday that the ultimatum had been shifted to enable the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) carry out the burial ceremony of Professor Festus Iyayi, a former leader of the union who died in the line of duty.

In a bid to lay to rest the issue of non-victimisation that the striking lecturers had stressed in a letter to the government before the ultimatum was issued, the NUC boss stated that all lecturers, who would resume duties and ready to work on December 9 would be paid their full salary arrears.

The public universities’ lecturers have not been paid since they embarked on a nationwide strike on July 1. They have, by invoking the non-victimisation clause, demanded that all the arrears must be paid.

He, however, pointed out that the leadership of ASUU, at the end of its meeting with the president on November 4, had agreed to call off the strike after several resolutions were reached which did not include the new conditions recently released by the union.

The union said it did not add any new condition but only emphasised the non-victimisation clause, which states that no member of the union should be punished for being part of the ongoing strike.

It claims the government was aware of the clause and called for the payment of the salary arrears.
It has also insisted that the government deposit the 200 billion Naira revitalisation fund for public universities as agreed with the Central Bank of Nigeria, before the strike would be called off.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Sunday advised parents not to endanger the lives of their children and wards by sending them to their university campuses. ASUU which also told its members not to sign attendance registers in their institutions, lashed out at the Federal Government for lack of consistency in its statements on the ongoing strike. The Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, had at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday, warned that any ASUU member that failed to resume on or before Wednesday would be sacked. Wike also directed vice-chancellors to advertise vacancies (internal and external) in their institutions. He told the vice-chancellors to open attendance registers for lecturers that resumed in their universities. The Federal Government then directed the Inspector-General of Police, Alhaji Mohammed Abubakar, to deploy policemen in all the federal universities. On Friday, President Goodluck Jonathan, who described the strike by the university teachers as a “subversive action,” added that ASUU had ceased to be a trade union. But the Chairman, University of Ibadan chapter of ASUU, Dr. Segun Ajiboye, said parents should keep their children and wards at home as no academic activity would resume until the five-month-old strike was called off. Ajiboye added, “Don’t risk the lives of your children and wards. Keep them at home because ASUU will not teach. Soldiers and the police deployed by the Federal Government will not teach. Wike can come and teach in the universities. It is a huge joke to sack lecturers. Our strike must not be in vain. Our students must see the results. “It is funny. We thought we are in a democracy. I assure Nigerians that we know what the law says about the strike. Our job is statue backed. We are not threatened. “We do not trust the government. The record of the government is clear. This government is dishonouring agreements. Our members are resolved to pursue this to a logical conclusion.” Ajiboye also said that the Federal Government’s stance was from a script that was played out by the military administration of Ibrahim Babangida in the 1990s. He stated, “Dear members, stay calm and remain resolute. There is nothing wrong in asking government to do what it says it will do immediately. ASUU is not making any new demands as the supervising minister is propagating. Government is only repeating a ‘one act play’ scripted by the IBB dictatorship in early 90s. It didn’t work then, and, it won’t work now. All branches are intact. We cannot be intimidated. “If ASUU could withstand Babangida, this government cannot threaten us. We have worked this road before, the only thing that will work is peaceful resolution. It is sad that government wants to sack us because we are asking for the resolutions. We are ready to be sacked but government should learn from the University of Ilorin experience. We are going to stay the course.” ASUU President, Dr. Nassir Fagge, urged university teachers on Sunday not to sign any attendance register. Fagge, in a message to the UI chapter , urged the lecturers to be resolute in their demands despite the threat of insecurity to their jobs. He said, “Comrades, can you see the unfolding drama? Now Jonathan says they didn’t give ultimatum. That the vice -chancellors did and Wike became their trumpet. But NUC’s (National Universities Commission) ultimatum is by the Federal Government to us to resume or get sacked. “Wike’s press address says ‘FG has directed’ not ‘VCs have directed.’ Be calm, stay resolute. By God’s grace, we are on course.” The Chairman, University of Lagos chapter of the union, Dr. Karol Ogbinaka, said Jonathan’s description of the strike as a “subversive action,” was unfortunate. “How can our action be subversive when we do not have arms and ammunition? We take exception to that. We are academics not coup plotters. I have a feeling he was misquoted. I wish to deny this on his behalf because it is an extreme statement,” Ogbinaka said. He also faulted the buck passing on the directive to reopen universities, saying it pointed to the fact that the government was “somersaulting.” According to him, the Federal Government is now shifting the blame among the pro-chancellors, Committee of Vice-Chancellors and Wike. But the Presidency on Sunday insisted that those behind the strike were enemies of the state. It said this could be the reason why the ASUU leadership refused to call off the strike even when 42 out of its 61 chapters voted against its continuation. The Senior Special Assistant to President Goodluck Jonathan on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, stated these at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday. He wondered why the leadership of the union also refused to call off the strike even after its 13-hour meeting with the President. Okupe described the strike as an evil programme motivated by selfish political interest. He said, “The ASUU leadership refused to accede to the wishes of 42 of its 61 chapters nationwide, who voted in favour of the agreement with the President and the calling off of the strike; but in a surprise volte face presented government again with a new set of demands and considerations outside the terms agreed at the presidential intervention. “From all indications therefore and other information available to government, it has become obvious that this is no longer an altruistic strike borne out of good intentions and aimed at improving the welfare of students and staff of the universities and the standard of our educational institutions. “Rather it is an evil programme motivated by selfish political interests and motivations within the polity. These are, quoting late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, ‘the enemies of state operating from within’”. While Okupe was talking tough in Abuja, the All Progressives Congress slammed the government for issuing the sack threat against the university teachers. In a statement in Lagos, the APC said the resort to military tactics reflected government’s poverty of ideas in resolving the prolonged strike. The statement by the party’s Interim National Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, also criticised Wike for the way he talked down on the striking teachers, while issuing the threat. APC stated, ‘’Wike’s language was crude, his presentation was rude and his threat was demeaning and counter-productive. We believe his lack of finesse and the inability to think out of the box in handling the whole strike issue will not bode well for a quick resolution of the crisis.” Meanwhile, the leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress will on Monday(today) meet with the ASUU leadership as part of its efforts to resolve the crisis between the union and the Federal Government.

The Federal Government has directed all federal university vice-chancellors to reopen their institutions for academic and allied activities. The government also declared that lecturers who fail to resume on or before December 4, would lose their jobs.

This was delivered by the Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday. The development which elicited mixed reactions, has consequently put the President Goodluck Jonathan-ASUU leaders truce meeting in jeopardy. The meeting had raised the hopes of students and parents on the resolution of the crisis but an accident on November 12, in which a former President of ASUU, Prof Festus Iyayi, lost his life, cast gloom on the calling off of the strike.

Iyayi and some members of the University of Benin chapter of the union were on their way to the Bayero University, Kano for a meeting where the outcome of the meeting with Jonathan was to be tabled before the NEC members’ for consideration. Due to Iyayi’s death, ASUU called off the meeting but reconvened penultimate Thursday in Kano where it harmonised its members’ position on the offer by government.

The union, as part of its conditions for calling off the strike, demanded the payment of its members’ salary arrears and a commitment on the part of the government to review the agreement in 2014. They also requested the release of the N200bn promised for this year as a condition for suspending the strike.

ASUU had in a letter issued after its NEC meeting on November 22, demanded the following: - that the N200bn agreed upon as 2013 revitalisation fund for public universities should be deposited with the CBN and disbursed to the benefiting universities within two weeks; - that the renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement in 2014 be included in the final document as agreed at the discussion with the President; - that a non-victimisation clause, which is normally captured in all interactions of this nature, be included in the final document; and - that a new memorandum of understanding shall be validly endorsed; signed by a representative of government, preferably the Attorney-General of the Federation, and a representative of ASUU, with the President of the Nigeria Labour Congress as a witness.

The letter dated November 25, 2013 which was addressed to President Jonathan through Wike was obtained by The PUNCH on Thursday.(See the letter at the end of this story). But as students, parents and other stakeholders awaited the government’s decision on the demands, Wike warned ASUU members to resume on December 4 or be sacked.

To clearly indicate government’s seriousness, the supervising Minister of Education advised the vice-chancellors to advertise the positions of those who failed to resume. He said, “Vice-chancellors should ensure that staff who resume for work are provided with the enabling environment for academic and allied activities. “Any academic employee who fails to resume on or before December 4, 2013 automatically ceases to be an employee of the institution. “Vice-chancellors are also directed to advertise vacancies (internal and external) in their institutions.

“The National Universities Commission is hereby directed to monitor the compliance of these directives by the various institutions.” Wike said the government took the decision in the best interest of the country. He recalled the meetings with the ASUU leadership, including one with Vice-President Namadi Sambo where the contentious issues of earned academic allowances and funding for the revitalisation of the universities were discussed .

Wike, who expressed surprise that ASUU returned to the government with “unacceptable new conditions”, said, “Government does not operate that way.” He said Jonathan’s gesture was more than sufficient to guarantee the commitment of government to address all issues resolved at the meeting with the union.

The government was also not comfortable with the union’s request that the AGF should sign the MOU and that there should be a renegotiation of the agreement in 2014. Wike said, “To start with, the agreement you (ASUU) said the Federal Government should comply with, was it the AGF that signed it? It was signed by the Federal Ministry of Education led by the Permanent Secretary.

The AGF was not even part of the negotiation. “We have made every effort to see that students go back to their schools. Each time government made frantic effort, you would hear one reason or the other(from ASUU). For us, we cannot continue to see this thing happens. We will continue to make sure that we stick to all we have agreed to do. “If you cannot believe Mr. President, then who would you discuss with again? Mr. President cannot sit down for 13 hours having a discussion and at the end of the day the only thing you can do is to attach some new conditions. “I don’t think that is acceptable to us. All we have promised them, we are going to do; we won’t go back. But bringing new conditions, we don’t think it is favourable. We don’t think it is for the good of this country.”

To pacify the lecturers, Wike said the government had increased their initial N30bn earned academic allowance by extra N10bn. He said the government also offered N200bn for the next six years as funding to the universities with a request for them to draw their priority list based on the need assessment report on universities. “We all agreed. ASUU said we should put the resolution down. That was done and signed by the permanent secretary,” he said.

The supervising minister said the government had reviewed the entire situation and came to the conclusion that the continuation of the strike was an attempt by ASUU to sabotage all efforts to address the issues.

“As a responsible government, we cannot allow the continuous closure of our public universities for this length of time as this poses danger to the education system, the future of our youths and national development”, he added. Asked if the decision to compel the lecturers to resume work had no legal implication, Wike replied, “Leave legal implication for us. We have weighed all options and I think government has done all it is supposed to do. “The Federal Government has met all its commitments and obligations with respect to the 2009 Agreement. We appeal to all stakeholders to appreciate the position of the government which is in the best interest of our dear country.”

- FG’s threat’ll fail –ASUU But ASUU’s National Treasurer, Dr. Ademola, Aremu, said the ultimatum to the university teachers had shown that the government was not committed to implementing any of the resolutions it reached with the union. Aremu expressed shock that the government could have such a plan when there was a shortfall of 60,000 lecturers in the nation’s universities .

He added that the threat would not hinder the union’s determination to ensure that the universities were well funded. The ASUU chief added, “It is a pity if the Federal Government is not willing to perfect the resolutions reached with the union. This is why we find it difficult to trust our leaders by their words. “How can someone be threatening to sack lecturers when universities are already short-staffed by almost 60,000. We are not in a military era. The military tried it and failed. This one will fail again. They can re-open the schools. ASUU did not shut the universities. It was their management that ordered the students to go back home. “With the latest action, the government has shown that it is not committed to all it has been saying. We are saying that since we agreed at the meeting that N200bn is for 2012 and 2013 revitalisation, the government should deposit same in the Central Bank of Nigeria . “ We are already in November and December is around the corner. If they don’t do that now, when do they want to do it? “We are saying that a non-victimisation clause should be included as agreed while the renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement should be included as agreed with the President.”

He flayed Wike for alleging that ASUU was making outrageous demands from the government. “Government should address the issue we sent to them in the letter and we are not demanding extra kobo.

Under the military, the threat to sack lecturers did not work. What the current government has done is another long path to make the strike linger than necessary,” Aremu added. - SSANU warns of strike But as Wike and the ASUU national treasurer were talking tough in Abuja and Ibadan, the Senior Staff Association of Universities was also threatening to embark on strike over the possible implementation of the NEEDS Assessment Report. SSANU expressed the fear that the government could be forced to reduce workforce in the universities if the report was implemented.

The Chairman of the Western Zone of the association, Alfred Jimoh, warned at a news conference in Ibadan, Oyo State, that any attempt by the government to do so could lead to another strike in the education sector. He said the report was targeting members of the association by the claim that the system was top-heavy. Jimoh said non-teaching members of staff of the universities had not enjoyed what their colleagues in the academics had profited from. He added,

“It has been a common knowledge that the non-teaching staff of public universities constitute endangered species of the very hostile environment, in which they found themselves. With my position in the association and the privileged information at my disposal, I will like to say that the adjective “endangered species” is even mild to describe the precarious situation of the non-teaching staff of the universities. “As it were, the elite members of the university community, the teaching members of staff have finally gone for the broke, by goading the government to empanel a one-sided committee, comprising their members only, to conduct a NEEDS Assessment of the Nigerian public universities and produce a pre-determined report with a damming and damaging recommendation on the non-teaching staff of the university system.”

Jimoh said the report among other things, claimed that the numerical strength of the non-teaching members of staff constituted the major conduit that drained the scarce financial resources of the universities. “We frown on this as the report fails to match up the numerical strength of the various categories of members of staff with the quantum of fund being expended on them in terms of salaries, wages and training finances.”

The Management of Ebonyi State University, Abakaliki, EBSU, Monday announced that academic activities would resume in all the campuses of the institution on Tuesday, 26th November, 2013.

It also ordered lecturers and students of the institution to return to classes following the inability of the Academic Staff Union of University, ASUU to end it over four months strike in the country. In a statement signed by the Registrar of the institution, Mr Sam N. Egwu, it stressed that the institution had resolved to commence academic activities not minding the disagreement existing between ASUU and the Federal government.

“Having waited patiently for Federal Government and ASUU to resolve the impasse behind the over four months strike embarked upon by the Union to no avail, the management of EBSU has resolved to re-open classes for learning to commence on Tuesday, the 26th day of November, 2013.

“We therefore inform all concerned that teaching and learning will begin fully on Tuesday, 26th, November, 2013. This is to enable us cover what we have lost to the strike,” the statement read.

Vanguard learnt that the resolution was the outcome of the meeting held last week by the management of the institution including lecturers where 80% of the lecturers in attendance agreed that they should ignore the ASUU Nationwide strike and return back to class. Contacted, the EBSU-ASUU Chairman, Prof. Ndubuisi Idenyi dissociated the ASUU chapter of EBSU from the purported reopening by the management and maintained that the strike was still in progress until they get directive from their national leadership.

Trinidad and Tobago has announced the award of university scholarship to 30 Nigerian youths to learn the art of management of carnival and costume making for steel band. The offer was made at the weekend by Trinidad and Tobago's Minister of Arts and Multiculturalism, Dr. Lincoln Douglas, on the opening ceremony of the annual carnival in Abuja. The beneficiaries, it was learnt, would study for degree in Carnival Art Management of Festival in two institutions, University of Trinidad and Tobago and University West. The minister said he would arrange with the universities for the admission of the Nigerian students as well as their accommodation and payment of tuition fees. Trinidad and Tobago is one of the many foreign countries that participated in the street carnival in the nation's capital on Saturday. Douglas, who led a 25-man contingent made up of steel band orchestra to Nigeria for the event, also presented several costumes to the Minister of Culture, Tourism and National Orientation, Chief Edem Duke. He said the Caribbean country offered the sponsorship to Nigeria so as to support the creative energy of Nigerian youths as well help in reducing street crimes. “Thisa great opportunity for Nigerian and Trinidad and Tobago. We want to share our skills in the area of street carnival and music which we have been doing for 17 years. So, this a platform to bring people together to know each other,” he said. Duke described culture as a tool for the promotion of national cohesion and creativity, stressing that Nigeria had the potential to leverage on the plus and possibilities available through tourism and culture. The second day of Abuja International Culture witnessed the performance of Durbar and traditional food fair and hairdo

Men may have larger noses than women because they generally have more muscle, demanding larger noses to breathe in more oxygen, researchers say. Modern humans have smaller noses than ancient humans, including Neanderthals, the closest extinct relatives of modern humans.

Scientists have suggested human nose size is linked to how much oxygen a person's body needs — the skeletons of ancient humans suggest they had larger body masses than modern humans, and so may have needed larger noses to help supply them with the greater levels of oxygen those bodies would have needed. However, because fossil skeletons of ancient humans are often fragmented and incomplete, researchers could not confirm whether nose size was linked with body mass.

Past research of a wide range of modern humans globally also revealed that men generally have larger noses than women, and typically have larger nasal cavities and airways behind the nose as well. In addition, men consume more oxygen during nasal breathing than women. Still, this did not confirm that differences in nose size are due to how much oxygen people need — perhaps nose size was linked to some other function, or no function at all.

To help answer these questions about nose size, researchers analyzed when nose size begins to change in the sexes.

The researchers found that males and females had similar nose sizes when they were young. However, male noses usually start growing larger than female noses during adolescence, coinciding with how males generally consume more oxygen and energy than females upon puberty.

All in all, the male noses they examined were about 10 percent larger than female noses on average. "As body size increases in males and females during growth, males exhibit a disproportionate increase in nasal size," said study lead author Nathan Holton, a biological anthropologist at the University of Iowa. "This follows the same pattern as energetic variables such as oxygen consumption." Males typically gain more lean muscle during adolescence than females, which demands more energy and oxygen. The finding that male noses may get larger during adolescence as well suggests nose size is linked with oxygen consumption. These findings might also yield insights on human evolution.

The researchers acknowledge their research looked at fewer than 40 people, all of European descent, which might raise questions about whether or not these findings apply generally to all men and women. Still, the fact that past findings suggest men generally have larger noses than women globally suggests this research could hold true of people overall.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has said it will not suspend its ongoing strike until the four months salaries owed its members are paid. The union also wants the immediate implementation of the N1.2tn offer by the Federal Government to public universities, starting with the release of N100bn this year.

The balance of N1.1tn is to be spread over five years from 2014. These were some of the resolutions reached by members of the National Executive Council of the union who converged on Kano on Friday to deliberate on whether to call off the over four- month-old industrial action or not.

A source, who was privy to the resolutions reached during the President Goodluck Jonathan – ASUU leadership meeting three weeks ago, told News men on Sunday, that the fresh demands were some of the issues to be tabled before Jonathan by the leadership during their next meeting. A date for the meeting is yet to be fixed. According to the source, a strong commitment to two demands, among other pending issues, must be obtained from the President before the industrial action will be called off by the union.

He said, “The issue now is on trust and we do not want a situation where promises will not be kept. The authorities have failed us in the past and we do not want a repeat of that. ”That was why we decided at the NEC meeting that the government should pay us the arrears of salaries being owed us since we started the strike on July1 before the strike can be called off. The salaries should not be paid piecemeal.

“We also insist that the Federal Government should start the implementation of the offer made to us when we met the President some weeks ago. “For instance, the N100bn he (Jonathan) agreed to inject into the university system in 2013 should be released to the universities immediately.So, we decided that before the strike could be called off, these two conditions and others must be met not by promises but by real action.”

The NEC members, who met behind closed doors at the Bayero University, Kano, were said to have reviewed the reports of the various university congresses on the strike.

Our source, who did not want his name in print, added that the death of a former National President of ASUU, Prof. Festus Iyayi, was discussed at the NEC meeting. Iyayi, a University of Benin lecturer, died in an auto accident involving the convoy of the Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada and an ASUU vehicle, on his way to Kano for the meeting.

The union’s National Welfare Officer, Dr. Ngozi Ilo, was injured. Our source said the accident “almost led to the discontinuation of the ongoing negotiation with the Federal Government. He added, “Some members expressed the belief that he (Iyayi) was killed by the government and therefore argued that the ongoing negotiation should be called off. Tempers rose but some members argued that the President should be respected because he had created the record of being the first Nigerian leader to meet with the leadership of ASUU on the issue of making the nation’s university system better.

They also argued that students and parents should be considered.” It was also learnt that after arguments for and against, about 60 per cent of the members of the NEC voted in favour of the discontinuation of the strike while the remaining 40 per cent voted no. But it was gathered that the NEC members unanimously agreed that before the strike could be called off, the leadership should ask the government to pay the four-month salary arrears being owed university teachers while the offer made by the government should be implemented immediately.

A key component of the agreement reached by both ASUU and the Federal Government when the President led the government team was that government would inject N1.2tn into public universities.

The government also agreed that the N1.2tn would be domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria to show its commitment to the agreement. The money is expected to be released on quarterly basis to the universities so that there won’t be any problem about implementing the deal.

The National Universities Commission and the Trade Union Congress will be the joint guarantors of the agreement while the Minister of Education will be the implementing officer. The government also agreed to revamp public universities by ensuring that all the issues that always lead to strike were dealt with once and for all. A majority of the chapters of the union had agreed to the suspension of the strike following the fresh commitment the leadership of ASUU obtained from the government. ASUU National President, Dr. Nassir Fagge, did not pick the several calls made to his telephone line by one of our correspondents on Sunday to confirm the fresh demands.

The University of Lagos chapter ASUU Chairman, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, and his counterpart in the Lagos State University, Dr. Adekunle Idris, also refused to divulge information on the outcome of the NEC meeting. ASUU had embarked on the strike to protest against the failure of the government to implement the agreement they signed in 2009.

The pact largely centered on better funding of the universities, a declaration of a state of emergency in tertiary education, better wages and payment of earned allowances to lecturers. It had suspended the NEC meeting penultimate week following Iyayi’s death. Source:Punch

Vice-Chancellor of the University of Jos, UNIJOS, Prof. Hayward Mafuyai, has appealed to striking lecturers, especially the institution’s local chapter, to accept the offer made by President Goodluck Jonathan at a recent meeting with their leadership and call off their over four-month old strike.

”Continuing the strike will in no way help, but we should take what government has given and press forward for the good of all as no one can deny that this government has done what no government has done in regards to the welfare of ASUU”, he told newsmen at the weekend.

”President Jonathan has done well by looking into the problems of ASUU; my appeal to them is to call off the strike.” Mafuyai said UNIJOS has been recording various achievements in the area of research which has earned it recognition within and without the country.

He said that the university has been involved in phytomedicine researches for which it won a grant of $8,000,000 for the establishment of African Centre of Excellence sponsored by the World Bank.

”The university has produced anti-diabetic product, anti-hypertensive product, anti-snake venom vaccine and contraceptive product which it wants patented and produced in a commercial quantity “to force the university research out of the shelf for the advancement of the country and we are seeking for industries to partner with us to patent our products from phytomedicines”, the VC said.

Source: Vanguard

THE striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko chapter, Ondo State and the university authorities are on a collision course over a directive that the students should resume for lectures.

Gates to the nation’s public universities have been shut in the last 144 days due to trade dispute between ASUU and the Federal Government.

Registrar of the state-owned university, R. B. Olotu in a statement in Akure directed the students to resume on Monday, November 25 for the second semester 2012/2013 session.

But in a swift reaction, the ASUU Chapter of the university dissociated itself from the purported resumption of academic activities in the university.

The Chapter’s chairperson, Busuyi Mekusi in a statement asked members to disregard the directive.

Mekusi said: “ASUU Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko Branch, wishes to dissociate itself from the purported resumption of academic activities in the university, as its members are still part of the ongoing national strike by the union.

“Members should, therefore, disregard any pull to abandon the struggle, and be steadfast until the present position is reviewed by NEC.“ The union also wants to make it abundantly clear that it would resist every tyrannical propensity to intimidate and harass its members.

”The Registrar in his statement entitled: ‘Resumption for the 2nd semester 2012/2013 session’ directed all the students of university to resume.

“All the students of Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Ondo State, are hereby informed that academic activities of the second semester of 2012/2013 session truncated as a result of the ASUU national strike are to resume on Monday, 25th November, 2013 with the continuation of registration on the University portal (http://portal.aaua.edu.ng).

“Lectures are to start on Monday, 2nd December, 2013It will be recalled that the Vice Chancellor of the University Prof. Femi Mimiko had about a month ago expressed worries over the continued closure of the university by Ondo State.Prof. Mimiko threatened that he would recall the students if the four month old strike action was not suspended.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities ( ASUU) has placed a ban on any procession in honour of the late former president of the union, Festus Iyayi, by University of Ilorin, reports the Nigerian Tribune.

A procession notice had been signed by one Dr Mrs Binta O. Ibrahim belonging to the Egbewole faction of ASUU, intimating the union of a proposed procession in honour of the late ASUU ex-president.

The union replied in a release titled: ‘Do not desecrate the memory of our late president,’ saying, “the attention of the union has been drawn to attempts by a group led by Professor Wahab Egbewole of the University of Ilorin to desecrate the memory of the late former president of our union, Professor Festus Iyayi, by issuing a notice of a so-called ‘procession’ for him in the University of Ilorin.” It described the proposed procession as illegal, saying it was still mourning the death of its former president and had not approved any procession for its branches.

As Nigerian students hold their breaths over the new developments on the industrial action embarked by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities five months ago, uncertainty continues to prevail as regards to when the crucial meeting of the National Executive Council (NEC) would hold.

The death of the former ASUU President, Prof. Festus Iyayi, is the likeliest reason for the continued delay in holding the meeting which would be the decider over the fate of students, who have been idling at home since July.

There had been speculations that the meeting would hold last Saturday after it was cancelled due to Iyayi’s death but ASUU’s representatives said there had been no intention to hold the meeting on Saturday. There are also unconfirmed reports that the meeting may hold next Friday and speculations also exist that the union may decide to postpone the crucial meeting till next year.

A labour analyst, however, told THISDAY that the meeting was likely to hold after the burial of Iyayi, which had been tentatively slated for the first week of December. "They may have decided to postpone the meeting as a mark of honour to their departed colleague, who died while on his way to the meeting. We should also give them that chance to mourn him," he said. ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge, did not respond to calls.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has queried four professors of Enugu State University of Science and Technology for sabotaging its ongoing nationwide strike.

Prof. Agu Gab Agu, Chairman of ESUT-ASUU, revealed this on Monday, after a congress of the local union in Enugu.

He said with almost half the population of its members present, they made it clear that they still stand on the resolutions of the ASUU National Executive on the strike.

Prof. Agu said that they abide by whatever decision of the National Executive Council and await further directives on the strike.

Answering questions on the purported resumption of academic activities in ESUT on Monday, the academic don said they were informed that some lecturers met with the management and sold the idea that they were representing ASUU and that the strike had been called off.

He said, “We are in meeting with the management and we have refuted that because we do not know them. We did not give them the mandate and everybody seems to be concerned about such a development and we have taken the necessary steps by issuing them with a query.

“Four professors are involved and we have issued them with queries and when they reply, we would know the next action to take.

“We are forwarding the query to ASUU national so that next time people should not arrogate to themselves what is not their duty. Nobody sent them. They don’t have the mandate of ASUU.”

Agu said the action of the professors was even very painful, knowing the stature of their member who died and whose death had pained every ASUU member.

“He (Professor Festus Iyayi) was a very devoted activist. You need to come close to him to appreciate him. I was with him when we had residency at Oxford roundtable last year and he was somebody that was full of humanity and again a very devoted family man.

“He came with his wife to Oxford. We were three Nigerians – Prof. Festus Iyayi, Prof. Akin Oyebade of the University of Lagos and my humble self and we were even hosted by the Nigerian community headed by one Prof. Shoduke of the Leys Pharmacy,” said Agu.

There are indications that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Nigeria may end its four-month old strike on Saturday, November 16. About 120 chapters of the union have voted in support of the decision to end the strike at their various congresses held in their institutions.

However, the National Executive of the body has not ratified the decision to end the strike. A Pro-Chancellor of the University of Benin, Senator Effiong Bob, urged ASUU to end the strike in honour of Late Fetus Iyayi, a former president of the union. Senator Bob, who was at the residence of the late professor pointed out that Late Iyayi died while trying to resolve the issue.

“ASUU Should call of the strike so that both the union members and students can come and give him the last respect he deserves during his funeral,” he said. Late Iyayi died on Tuesday, November 12, in an auto crash on his way to Kano for a meeting of the union. In a meeting with the leadership of the union, President Goodluck Jonathan had agreed to provide 1.1 trillion Naira (about 6.9 billion dollars) in the next five years and the balance of 62 billion Naira (about 390 million dollars) and allowance to each university.

The union had embarked on a nationwide strike on July 1 suspending all academic activities.

Lawmaker representing Ikorodu Constituency 1 in the Lagos State House of Assembly, Sanai Agunbiade, on Monday, said the striking university lecturers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), are not only fighting for their welfare but for the improvement of the universities as well as that of students. Agunbiade, who is the Chairman, House Committee on Judiciary, said the lecturers are justified for embarking on the strike owing to the rot that has pervaded the entire Nigerian university system. He, however, appealed to the lecturers to consider the plea of the parents and students and call off the strike especially when the government has shown commitment and made a sincere promise to do the right thing. “To the best of my understanding, what ASUU has been fighting for consistently is not only for the welfare of its members but also the welfare and academic well-being of the Nigerian institutions as well as the youths who are always referred to as the future of the country. “When the environment for education and learning is conducive, then the lecturers will be able to give their optimum and students will be able to receive quality education which will transform into their being well-baked for the various disciplines they have chosen to undergo in their various universities. “In a situation where there is rot and the rot is left unattended to, it will impact negatively on the lecturers who will be teaching with pains, distractions and thinking about the rot and unavailability of certain teaching materials. It is no gainsaying that most of Nigeria’s universities are now a ghost of what they used to be when they were founded,” he said.

Majority of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, including the University of Ibadan and Ahmadu Bello University chapters, have voted for the suspension of the strike by the union during chapter congresses held nationwide. The union met with a Federal Government team led by President Goodluck Jonathan last Tuesday in Abuja. Government has promised to inject N220bn yearly into the public universities for the next five years. The ASUU leadership, after briefing the zonal coordinators on the offer, had directed the local branches to organise congress meetings between Friday last week and Tuesday (today). This is to enable all the lecturers to make input into the action the union would take after its NEC meeting on Thursday. As at press time on Monday, 20 of the 28 chapters that had concluded their meetings supported the suspension of the strike, while the remaining eight preferred that the varsity teachers pressed on with the strike. The teachers in the University of Abuja, for instance, supported the suspension of the strike but listed conditions that must be met by the Federal Government. A source at the meeting on Monday said the congress demanded that the withheld three months salaries of the lecturers must be paid. “Members also demanded for commitment on funding. We also want assurance from government that no lecturer will be victimised on the account of participating in the strike. We also asked that the template for sharing the earned allowance should be prepared within the next two weeks,” the source added. The conditions were the same for Nasarawa State University, which voted for continuation of the strike. Chairman of ASUU in the school, Dr. Theophilus Lagi, told our correspondent after the congress that as far as his members were concerned the strike should continue. He said, “There are certain grey areas that must be cleared. The ‘no work no pay’ policy must be sorted out. Government must pay lecturers the arrears. “We also need evidence that the N200bn that government promised to release this year is in the central bank. We are not going to suspend the strike until the money is there and available for sourcing. That is the position of the congress. “Nobody trusts government. They have been making promises since 2009 and nothing has been implemented except the N30bn earned allowances. “Secondly, the 2009 agreement is due for review; nothing has been said about that. Lecturers have been denied salary for three months, those monies must be paid.” Among the universities that supported that the strike be called off are Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria; Federal University of Technology, Minna; University of Lagos; University of Ibadan; University of Calabar; University of Port-Harcourt; Federal University of Technology, Akure; Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto; and Ekiti State University. The list also include the Federal University of Technology, Owerri; Delta State University; Bayero University Kano; Imo State University; Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; and Olabisi Onabanjo University, among others. On the other hand, majority of lecturers at the University of Benin; and University of Jos wanted the strike to continue. However, in the Bauchi zone of the union, five universities voted for continuation of the state strike, while the remaining three threw their weight against the continuation of the strike.:.>>> Source: PUNCH

The Academic Staff Union Of University,ASUU, has given FG certain agreement to be met before it end the ongoing strike.A member of the association spoke with Newsmen .

He said, “I must tell you that our mandate remains. The only mandate we have is that 2009 agreement must be met. We have not reached any agreement with the Federal Government. “Since the Federal Government wants to be releasing N220bn every year for five years, then all monetary and regulatory agencies must sign.

The Central Bank of Nigeria, Ministries of Finance and Labour, National Assembly, Office of the Presidency, National Universities Commission, Tertiary Education Trust Fund, Trade Union Congress and our umbrella body, the Nigeria Labour Congress, must sign with consequences stated. “The reason we will ensure this is that we don’t want argument tomorrow that the agreement was entered in error or that they don’t know the implication of signing the agreement.

If possible, documents that will provide for automatic deduction of the agreed money at a particular/agreed date must be provided.” The leadership of the union had engaged in a 13-hour marathon meeting with government delegation led by President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja between Monday and Tuesday.

Though it was generally perceived that both ASUU and the Federal Government achieved breakthrough in negotiation for the first time after the lengthy meeting with the President,Saturday PUNCH learnt that the lecturers might not be in a hurry to go back to class. Another source close to ASUU who was also part of the marathon meeting with the President in Abuja, said there was nothing new in what the President promised members of the union.

According to him, government had always failed in implementing agreements reached with ASUU. He said, “Truly the President sat down for more than 13 hours with us. He told us that we were not leaving the venue until the issues were resolved. The Federal Government also promised to inject funds into the system, but a promissory note is not enough. “Where would the money come from? There is no assurance that government will provide money especially with the mop-up policy in place that ensures that unspent money is refunded to government’s coffers at the end of every year.’’

Asked when the lecturers would call off the strike, he said, “I doubt if the strike is ending soon. The problem is with the Finance Minister. Where is government getting N1trn from? A government that could not implement agreement between 2009 and 2013, what is the guarantee that they would honour this agreement. “It is all politics. We are still awaiting directives from our branches.

We have told them the outcome of the meeting with the President but we are waiting for them to tell us what they think of government’s proposal. “Imagine the Minister of Education has travelled out of the country. He was appointed Vice President for UNESCO General Assembly. How can he travel out of the country without resolving the crisis in the education sector?’’ He said the Federal Government should spend the trillions of dollars in its Sovereign Wealth Fund to finance university education and improve infrastructure in the country.

A key component of the agreement reached by both ASUU and the Federal Government was that government would inject N1.1trn into public universities in the next five years. Government is expected to inject N220bn yearly into the public university sector beginning from 2014. But government said it could only release N100bn this year, noting that the amount had already been processed. The Federal Government also indicated that the N1.1trn would be domiciled at the Central Bank of Nigeria to show its commitment to the agreement. The money is expected to be released on quarterly basis to the universities so that there won’t be any problem about funding the deal.

The National Universities Commission and the Trade Union Congress will be the joint guarantors of the agreement while the Minister of Education will be the implementing officer. Government, according to sources at the meeting, also agreed to revamp public universities by ensuring that all the issues that always lead to strike are dealt with once and for all. Asked to confirm if lecturers were planning to call off their strike, ASUU Chairman, University of Calabar branch, Dr. James Okpiliya, said the local chapter was yet to get formal briefing on the meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan. He, however, said the union would make its position known to the press on the President’s offer after the end of a meeting scheduled for mid-night Thursday.

Also, Chairman of ASUU in Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Prof. Adegbola Akinola, said that members must be properly briefed on the resolution between the Federal Government and representatives of ASUU in the last marathon meeting. He said the only condition that could make its members accept any offer would be the provision of necessary documents. He said, “The NEC meeting may not hold now. It is the local congress that is expected to hold first which is either tomorrow or Monday.

“Our members are not yet briefed about the details, so it is when we meet that we will know the details and then discuss whether what we got is sufficient enough to justify our action or demand. “I can’t really pre-empt the mind of other members. But if we are to accept any offer, there must be document to back that up. We need to obtain documents on that. Maybe if there is a document, people may look at it critically.” However, the Federal Government said it would include the N1.1trn promised ASUU in the education budget starting from next year. It also said it was waiting for the union to know the next step to take.

The Director, Press and Public Relations of the Ministry of Education, Mr. Olu Lipide, told one of our correspondents on Thursday that government was waiting for ASUU to take the necessary steps. Meanwhile, the Dean of Social Sciences, University of Lagos, Prof. Omololu Soyombo, has said that the general ASUU body must agree before the strike could be called off. He said, “It is difficult to believe the President but we give him the benefit of doubt.

We believe that the President is noble, the ASUU president promised to give him a feedback. If this had been done earlier, the strike wouldn’t have extended for so long.” Corroborating his view, the Chairman, Lagos State University, ASUU, Dr. Jamiu Oluwatoki said, “It won’t be long again. By next week there should be a NEC meeting and subsequently the congress meetings before the president can call off the strike.”

The Academic Staff Union of Universities is set to convene its National Executive Committee this weekend to discuss the offer made to the union by the Federal Government to develop public universities, it was learnt on Wednesday. ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Faggae after a meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan which ended in the early hours of Tuesday had told reporters that the union would take back an undisclosed message to the striking lecturers.

The Federal Government had offered to inject N1.1tn into public universities in the next five years. The union had concluded arrangement to hold the meeting to collate the views of members before a final decision would be taken on whether to accept or reject the offer. Usually, the decision to embark on or to call off strike is taken at the union’s NEC meeting.

It was gathered that the meeting might hold any day between now and next week Friday. In the hierarchy of ASUU, the zonal coordinators after a meeting of the national officers are to brief the branch chairmen who would consequently call for congress in their respective universities.

But a source who spoke on condition of anonymity said a meeting with the zonal coordinators usually take place two days after a major meeting with the Federal Government because they have to come from the nine zones of the country. He said, “There is a national strike coordinating committee comprising the national principal officers and the zonal coordinators which is the highest decision-making body.

In the country, we have nine zones. After the meeting, the zonal coordinators will brief the branch chairmen who will now call for a congress to brief all members.” Asked if the strike would be called off soon, the source replied, “It is not a decision that could be taken in a hurry. All members must be carried along. We have a mandate which is very clear – that is the implementation of the 2009 agreement. Anything other than that, they will have to relate to members. The zonal coordinators will collate the decision of the branches and forward them to the national officers.” A chairman of a local branch of ASUU in a university in the South-West confided in one of our correspondents that the date for the NEC meeting would be communicated to all the chapters on Thursday (today). Another source said, “Before we embarked on the strike, there was a referendum. The referendum did not emanate from the principal officers but from the branches.


Members must be briefed before any final decision could be taken.” Meanwhile, strong indications emerged on Wednesday that ASUU may soon call off its four-month old strike as the Nigeria Labour Congress described the meeting between President Jonathan and the leadership of the union as the most meaningful since 2009.

The Acting General Secretary of the NLC, Mr. Chris Uyot, in a telephone interview with one of our correspondents on Wednesday, urged ASUU to explain to its members the offer the Federal Government had made to the striking lecturers in order to arrive at the next line of action. According to him, since ASUU is an affiliate of the NLC, it is the responsibility of the union to decide on whether to call off the strike or not in accordance with standard labour procedure. He said, “We simply advise that they carry out meaningful consultation with their members and ensure that whatever was offered was explained in totality to members of ASUU. “I want to say that since the agreement of 2009 was signed, and of the various negotiations that have taken place, this was the most meaningful of the meetings. “All discussions were taken aside and the issues in the 2009 agreement were examined, discussed and analyzed in totality.

“Let the ASUU explain in totality the offer that was made to its members. Even the NLC has to explain to the members of the National Executive Council of the Congress before taking decisions in such matters. I can only say that calling off the strike depends on ASUU,” he added.

After a lengthy meeting between,ASUU led by Dr.Nassir Faggae and FG led by President Goodluck Jonathan,it was found out that both parties struck a deal which is left to be decided between lecturers if the strike would end this week.

It was learnt that the negotiating team of ASUU led by Dr. Nassir Faggae met on Tuesday night to further deliberate on the deal. Though the details of the meeting were not known as of 11.22pm on Tuesday, it was gathered that ASUU might call a National Executive Council meeting on or before Saturday where the deal would be tabled before all its branch executives.

Jonathan had while shaking hands with Fagge after the marathon meeting in the Presidential Villa, Abuja said, “My President, I hope it (strike) will end today(Tuesday). Our children have suffered enough. We must find a solution.” All those in attendance responded with a loud “Amen.” When greeting Omar, he said, “My President with you around, there will be no problem; our agreement is signed, sealed and delivered.”.

Faggae told State House correspondent on his way out of the Villa, that his team would take back a message to varsity teachers before a decision would be taken on the next line of action. “We had a lengthy meeting with Mr. President, and we looked into how best to address the problem of university education in this country. We now have a message from Mr. President that we are going to take to our members and we are expecting that our members will respond appropriately to his message,” he said. Fagge added that since the message was meant for members, he would not divulge it to the press.

When asked whether university teachers would be called upon to return to the classrooms, he said that the decision was left for them to take. When further asked if he was impressed by the President’s message, Faggae cautioned journalists against putting words in his mouth, insisting that only ASUU members would determine that. The Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu, who listened to Faggae’s encounter with journalists, later said progress was made during the discussion. He said, “We made progress.

The President of ASUU told you that they are going back with a message from the Federal Government back to their members and the message is full of high expectation and hope.” When asked whether ASUU would call off the strike, Wogu said that was why he described the message as full of expectation. “Our prayer is that they will come back with positive outcome. They might even not come back to meet us. They might take decision there that will meet your expectations “ he said. He added that the offers made by the government during the meeting were those that were in line with the contentious 2009 agreement. He said since the issues that led to the strike bordered on the 2009 agreement, the government did not go beyond the pact.

The President was joined at the meeting that started at 2.40pm on Monday by Vice-President Namadi Sambo; Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Anyim Pius Anyim; the Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike; Wogu among others. Faggae led the union team which included past presidents such as Prof. Abdulahi Sule-Kano, Prof. Dipo Fashina and Prof. Festus Iyayi. President of the Nigeria Labour Congress, Abdulawahid Omar and his Trade Union Congress counterpart, Bobboi Kaigama, also attended. Other members of the delegation were Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi, Prof. Victor Osodeke, Prof. Suleiman Abdul, Dr. Victor Igbum and Mr. Michael Odunmoraye. The marathon meeting was the first between ASUU and Jonathan since the strike started. The Presidency took over the negotiations with ASUU on September 19 with Sambo in charge.