NUT to hold NEC meeting on Thursday

The Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) is to hold a
National Executive Council (NEC) meeting on
Thursday to decide its next line of action over the
lingering strike by public university teachers.
The NUT President, Mr Michael Alogba-Olukoya,
said this in a telephone interview with the News
Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
The union had on Sept. 26 given a two-week
ultimatum to the Federal Government and the
lecturers to resolve their differences and end the
strike or face nationwide strike by NUT members.
The lecturers embarked on the strike under the
aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) on July 1.
The lecturers described the strike as
“comprehensive, total and indefinite.
Alogba-Olukoya told NAN that the union extended
the ultimatum following appeals from well-
meaning Nigerians.
He, however, noted that the extension would end
on Tuesday.
“Since we gave the ultimatum, well meaning
Nigerians have been pleading with us.
“In order not to cry more than the bereaved, we
gave them till Oct. 22. The NEC members will
meet on Thursday to decide our next line of
action, “he said.
NAN reports that the
university teachers are
protesting non-implementation of an agreement
they signed with the Federal Government in 2009
on improved funding of universities and payment
of allowances to ASUU members, among others
issues.
Meetings between ASUU and representatives of the
government failed to resolve the issues that led to
the strike.
The government has released some funds to meet
some of the lecturers’ demands, but ASUU insists
on full implementation of the agreement before
calling off the strike.
The strike has kept students in public universities
out of school for more than three months.
On Saturday, President Goodluck Jonathan
appealed to ASUU members to return to the
classrooms in the interest of their students.
Jonathan said that keeping students out of school
for this long was unpatriotic, whatever ASUU’s
grievances might be.
He said that since the government had shown
commitment to improving the condition of
universities, ASUU should call off the strike