President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof Emmanuel Osodeke has said they are ready to call off its nationwide industrial action immediately if the Federal Government signs the negotiated agreement.
In an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday July 5, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke said the union is waiting for a positive response from President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
He also accused the federal government of not taking the aggrieved lecturers serious, hence why they are taking so long to resolve the issues that led to the strike.
Osodeke said;
“As far as ASUU is concerned, the strike can end tomorrow, we have finished the negotiations, let the government call us this night that we should come tomorrow and sign the agreement, we will be there.
“Let government tell us they have finished testing the UTAS, we have accepted it. By tomorrow, we will call off the strike. We are finished (with negotiations).
“We are just waiting, and challenging the government. When will they sign the agreement, and when will they accept UTAS? Those are the two questions we need to ask the Nigerian government.”
The ASUU President also said the federal government has failed to pay the striking lecturers their salaries for the past five months, noting that the tool used as a blackmail to punish the university workers will not work.