The Academic Staff Union of Universities has hailed the House of Representatives for its intervention in the protracted crisis between university lecturers and the Federal Government.
The President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, said, “For the first time, we have seen light at the end of the tunnel.”
This is just as the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, who briefs the leadership of ASUU about his meetings with the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), over the crisis, said he expected that the strike would be called off “in matter of days.”
Gbajabiamila and ASUU said the eight-month strike by university lecturers would soon be called off.
While Gbajabiamila said most of the issues that caused the protracted crisis between ASUU and the FG had been resolved and that the strike would end “in a matter of days,” the President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, said for the first time since the lecturers downed tools, “we have seen light at the end of the tunnel.”
The Speaker had called a meetings with the national leadership of ASUU about his meetings with Buhari over the crisis.
The House had intervened in the crisis during which the lawmakers held three stakeholders’ meetings, and after which the parties made a seven-point resolution which Gbajabiamila presented to the President.
The Speaker had for the second time had a follow-up meeting with Buhari on Friday.
Before Gbajabiamila and Osodeke spoke on Monday, both parties met behind closed doors at the Speaker’s office for about one hour.
Emerging from the meeting, the Speaker said, “This is a recap to seal the deal on what has been a long fought battle, long hard road for everybody both for ASUU, the students and the government. As you will recall, some weeks ago, the House got involved in this crisis and we had long, tough, intense meetings with ASUU. We had meetings with those on the government side and we are happy to report that as the result of the consultation and intervention of the House, very significant progress has been made and we are more or less at the of the road, wave for dotting some “I”s and crossing some “T”s.
