The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is billed to meet with President Goodluck Jonathan today, hopefully to finalise a deal to end the union’s five-month strike launched on July 1 to press for the implementation of a 2009 university funding agreement.

When both camps met on November 4 at the Presidential Villa in Abuja, Jonathan made a fresh offer which the ASUU National Executive Council (NEC) considered during its meeting held in Kano last Friday and Saturday.

A source close to the meeting confirmed that members voted about 60-40 per cent to call off the strike but directed ASUU leaders to extract a signed commitment from President Jonathan before the union would end the strike.

The ASUU NEC, according to the source, came up with three conditions to be tabled before Jonathan and which he must accept for the strike to be called off. He listed the conditions as follows:

•A commitment from the President that any review or reconsideration or renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement will not substantially affect the pact which is the cause of the ongoing strike;

•The immediate payment of all outstanding salary arrears and allowances of varsity teachers without victimisation; and

•A written commitment from the President that the Federal Government will commit N225 billion annually to the funding of universities for the next four years.

The strike had lately started to weaken. At the Niger State-owned Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai (IBBUL), some academic staff have already resumed teaching while the Adamawa State University and Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko in Ondo State have also reportedly pulled out of the strike, with Enugu State University (ESUT) at the verge of following suit.

Meanwhile, the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Lagos State University (LASU) are reportedly set to conduct degree and matriculation examinations outside their campuses, even as UNILAG, LASU and the University of Jos (UNIJOS) have all scheduled to conduct the post-UTME examinations.

•Photo shows ASUU President, Comrade Nasir Fagge.

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