The truce meeting between the Federal Government and executive members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Tuesday night ended in a deadlock, Daily Independent reliably gathered.
Stakeholders at the meeting which involved the Professor Nimi Briggs led committee and ASUU officials failed to reach any meaningful resolution after the meeting which lasted several hours at the University of Abuja campus.
A source privy to the meeting noted that the Nimi Briggs committee failed to come with any commitment to resolve the strike rather was appealing to the union to suspend the strike.
Other unions also engaged in strike include the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of University and Allied Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
There were initial signs that all the parties involved in the stalemate that has lasted for over six months were ready to come to a compromise, since the president had mandated the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to intervene within two weeks.
ASUU had previously insisted on the continuation of its indefinite strike with frequent reviews to elongate the action, a situation that appears to be causing the Federal Government serious embarrassment.
The Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, had in a recent chat with reporters, called the bluff of ASUU, saying the government was not in a position to borrow over N1 trillion to settle the lecturers.
Recall also that ASUU recently announced an extension of their strike action by another four weeks, further dimming hope of students to return to the classrooms.
This is coming as the rollover strike expired on July 31, 2022, a development that may have further compounded the woes of university undergraduates.
ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, had disclosed the union’s decision, in a statement titled, ‘Review of the Roll-Over Strike.’