The National Executive Council of the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities is expected to meet in the first week of August 2022, according to PRIME9JAONLINEMEDIA.
The meeting will decide whether to suspend or continue the strike, which will enter its 155th day on Tuesday (today).
According to PRIME9JAONLINEMEDIA, ASUU began a strike on Monday, February 14, 2022, in response to the government's failure to address some of its demands.
Dr. Gbolahan Bolarin, chairman of ASUU, Federal University of Technology, Minna chapter, confirmed the planned meeting to our correspondent on Monday.
Bolarin stated that the meeting would take place on either July 30 or August 1, 2022.
ASUU had previously warned the government against the proliferation of tertiary institutions as well as the failure to approve the implementation of the Universities Transparency Accountability System.
The union had also insisted on the release of the White Paper of the visitation panels to universities, as well as the release of revitalisation funds for university development, among other things.
Chris Ngige, the Minister of Labour and Employment, recently accused the union of entering into an uneven agreement with the Federal Government via the Prof Nimi Briggs committee.
However, ahead of the NEC meeting, Bolarin ruled out the possibility of a strike suspension.
According to him, the government has not presented anything that could lead to such a decision.
"We are not even at the point where we can vote on whether or not to continue because there has been no communication from the Federal Government."
"The National Executive Committee will meet early next month" (August). It should be August 1st. "The meeting could even take place on July 30," he said.
The NUC assigns vice chancellors tasks.
Meanwhile, the National Universities Commission on Monday urged Vice Chancellors to support ongoing efforts by Education Minister Adamu Adamu, the Federal Ministry of Education, and other stakeholders to end the country's public university strike.
Prof. Abubakar Rasheed, the commission's Executive Secretary, made the call in Abuja during the opening of the 2022 NUC management retreat with vice chancellors of Nigerian universities.
"Our universities have been confronted with uncertainties as a result of the unfortunate strike," Rasheed said.
"The ASUU strike is in its sixth month, and as vice-chancellors, we are well aware of the negative consequences of university closures." We understand what it means in terms of a country's economy.
"As vice chancellors, we understand what it means for our institution's reputation and the future of our students."
"University education is critical to success and the economy of a country." Nations investigate teaching, research, and community development in order to achieve their goals."
Immediately following the retreat's start, Rasheed was accompanied by some vice chancellors to a stakeholders' meeting on the ASUU strike.
When asked if the union would discuss the current strike, the ASUU chairperson responded, "That is about the only issue."
As of the time of filing this report, the Ministry of Education's spokesperson, Ben Goong, had yet to respond to PRIME9JAONLINEMEDIA's inquiries about the strike's progress.