THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called off the strike it embarked upon in November 2018.

The ICIR learnt the strike was suspended following a fruitful deliberation with the federal government on Thursday.

Earlier in the day, Biodun Ogunyemi, ASUU National Chairman, told journalists that the union has signed a document on behalf of its members and that a formal announcement to end the strike would be made later on Thursday.

When ASUU declared the strike in November, Ogunyemi had said that they would only return to school when the federal government implements the Memorandum of Understanding it entered with the union in October of 2017.

Since the commencement of the strike action, ASUU has held several meetings with the federal government represented by the Ministers of Education and Labour, Adamu Adamu and Chris Ngige, respectively.

Speaking with journalists after Thursday’s meeting, Ogunyemi directed all ASUU members to resume work on Friday, warning, however, that “should government fail to fulfill its part of the agreement as reflected in the 2019 Memorandum of Action, ASUU shall resume its suspended strike action as the union deems necessary”.

“ASUU notes, with serious concern, the covert and overt roles of some vice Chancellors in the management and application of funds attracted by our Union to Nigeria’s public universities. Consequently, we condemn, in the strongest terms, Vice-Chancellors who have made efforts to undermine and, in some cases, attempted to break our patriotic struggles for the revitalization of public universities in Nigeria,” Ogunyemi added.

“ASUU will not shy away from taking headlong those Vice-Chancellors who are reputed for acts of impunity, nepotism and other forms of conduct which are antithetic to university culture and the progressive development of our universities. Our union will compile all their shenanigans and forward them to relevant authorities for further action.”