The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which claims that the continuing strike action will not finish anytime soon, has shattered hopes that students in public tertiary institutions will be able to return to class.
The lack of seriousness and commitment from the government side, according to ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke, is the reason the strike, which has been in effect for six months, will not end soon.
The union, which has been on strike since February 14 because it claims that the government has failed to meet its demands, met with government representatives once more on Tuesday, but the meeting, like all others before it, ended in a standoff.
According to Osodeke, the government came “with nothing” to the table.
He said the government was yet to show any commitment to the demands of the lecturers.
“The situation now is that it’s even worse than when we started. The government has not shown any responsibility on how to fund our university system and education in general
“They only claim they don’t have funds, no one can believe that. There are no funds and one man can steal N109 billion and the government is trying to negotiate with him? The government has not shown any commitment.
“We met with them yesterday and they came with nothing. It is very sad that all Nigerian universities are closed and all the government is interested in, is how to win elections and Nigerian people are watching,” the ASUU President said.