Following the federal government's failure to meet their demands, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may have declared an indefinite strike.
It was learned that the lecturers made the resolution during their National Executive Council meeting, which began at about 12:15am on Monday and lasted for hours at the University of Abuja's National Secretariat.
The meeting's communiqué, which will detail the decisions made, has not yet been released, but credible sources say the majority of ASUU chapters across universities supported the decision to go on indefinite strike.
Beyond the indefinite strike, some lecturers advised the union to boycott further talks with the federal government until after President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office on May 29, 2023.
When the Media visited UniAbuja on Sunday, an ASUU member stated that the meeting was not for media coverage.
However, a member of the union's National Executive Committee (NEC), who spoke on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak, stated that with the declaration of indefinite strike, "there would be no more negotiations with the federal government."
When asked to explain what he meant, the NEC member declined to comment further.
He previously told the Media that there was a shouting match among ASUU members at the start of the meeting over some issues, including a comment attributed to ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke when he appeared on Arise Television and allegedly called state universities "quacks."
"Some people criticized him for saying that, while others supported him," the official explained. The two camps yelled at each other, but we eventually worked things out. Let me tell you; "there will be no more negotiations until our demands are met."
'Some members want the talks to halt until Buhari leaves office.'
According to a source close to the ASUU leadership at Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria, even though there was no resolution at the top level, some union members were of the opinion that negotiations with the federal government should be suspended until President Muhammadu Buhari leaves office in May 2023.
"I can assure you that this point of view is gaining traction in many universities," the lecturer said.
"Many lecturers believe that it is pointless to continue wasting energy talking to government officials because they are unwilling to listen," he continued.
"I know that many lecturers here at ABU, as well as others at BUK, Federal University, Dutse, and elsewhere in the South, believe that ASUU should also stop talking to the government until after this government leaves," he stated.
"It's not that we lack empathy. Everyone is affected. I am also affected because my children attend a public university and have been at home for more than six months. I, too, have not received my salary, but the fact is that the government should do the right thing to prevent the universities from collapsing," he said.
Another NEC member stated that during the 2023 general elections, ASUU members would mobilize against current public office holders.
When contacted yesterday, the ASUU president stated that an official statement would be issued following the meeting, but as of the time of filing this report, no such statement had been issued.
Prof. Osodeke, President of ASUU, explained that the strike extension was unavoidable due to the federal government's "failure to satisfactorily address all the issues raised in the 2020 FGN/ASUU Memorandum of Action (MoA)."