STRIKE LATEST: ASUU NEC meeting now to hold on Friday

The Academic Staff Union of Universities
(ASUU) may hold its postponed National
Executive Council (NEC) meeting on Friday to
decide whether or not to suspend the
indefinite strike it began since July 2. A top official of ASUU, who preferred
anonymity, disclosed this to Daily Independent
in a telephone interview on Sunday. He was, however, not certain if the NEC will still
be held at the Bayero University, Kano where it
was initially proposed to hold. The leadership of the union postponed the
scheduled Kano NEC meeting following the
demise of one its key members, Festus Iyayi,
who died last Tuesday in a ghastly motor
accident on his way to Kano for the postponed
NEC meeting. The source noted that the union members are
still grieved and are pre-occupied with the
burial arrangement of the late Professor of
Business Administration, who died along the
Abuja-Lokoja highway in an accident caused by
the convoy of Kogi State Governor, Idris Wada. The source debunked speculations in the social
media that ASUU has jettisoned its NEC
indefinitely, saying the union postponed the
NEC meeting as a mark of honour and respect
for the late Iyayi. According to him, all ASUU officials that were
supposed to participate in the NEC meeting
last week Wednesday had actually gathered at
the Bayero University, Kano, but for the
unfortunate accident which claimed the life of
Iyayi and disrupted the agenda already set for the meeting. Meanwhile, Supervisory Minister of Education,
Nyesom Wike, also at the weekend led a
delegation of government on a condolence
visit to the residence of the late academician in
Benin City. Wike assured that the Federal Government
would diligently implement all the agreements
it reached with ASUU in the course of the
negotiations with President Goodluck
Jonathan. Those in the delegation of the minister include
Executive Secretary of the National
Universities Commission (NUC), Julius Okojie,
and some top officials of Federal Ministry of
Education. They also visited the injured ASUU National
Welfare Officer, Ngozi Iloh, who is said to be
responding to treatment at the University of
Benin Teaching Hospital, Benin. In a statement in Abuja on Sunday, the
Minister’s Special Assistant (Media), Simeon
Nwakaudu, said Wike solicited the permission
of the family to allow the Federal Government
participate in the burial ceremony of the
former ASUU president. “President Goodluck Jonathan and the entire
administration are deeply pained by the sudden
death of the former ASUU National President
who played a key part in the negotiations
between ASUU and the Federal Government. “We recall the significant contributions of
Professor Iyayi during the 13-hour negotiations
between President Jonathan and ASUU, which
led to a headway in the discussions. “I want to assure the family that the ideals that
the late scholar fought and died for will never
be forgotten. The Federal Government will
diligently implement the decisions reached in
the course of negotiations with ASUU. “The Federal Ministry of Education wishes to be
a part of the burial of this erudite scholar and
we seek the permission of the family to
participate in the burial. I pray God to grant the
family the strength to bear this unfortunate
loss,” Wike was quoted to have said. Oriabure Iyayi, son of the late ASUU president,
was said to have thanked President Jonathan,
the Minister of Education and all Nigerians for
commiserating with the family at their moment
of grief. A relative of the deceased, Prof. Robert
Ebiwele, informed the minister that the burial
will hold between December 5 and 9. He assured that the family would inform the
Federal Ministry of Education on the burial
arrangements.