By Gabriel Dike and Nnamani Adanna, Abuja

There are strong indidcations that the over seven-month-old industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) would soon end as leaders of the lecturers union are set  for an emergency meeting to discuss the next line of action.

Daily Sun gathered that the NEC meeting tomorrow would be preceded by zonal and branch meetings and congresses of public universities on strike.

On October 7, the Appeal Court asked ASUU to obey the order of an industrial court which directed the suspension of the strike before seeking to appeal.

The source confirmed that the appeal court ruling that ordered the union to resume work immediately was part of the reasons ASUU is planning to end to the strike.

“Remember the Appeal Court ruling that we must call off the strike before our appeal can be heard? That’s why the union must call off the strike on or before October 17.

“As part of the efforts to make ASUU call off the strike, the union continued their meeting with the speaker of the house of representatives yesterday.”

Speaking on a TV programme, counsel to ASUU, Femi Falana had said: “The legal advice that I will give to my clients is confidential. But I can assure you that the strike will soon be called off.”

He said he would advise his clients accordingly once the certified true copy of the court order of last Friday has been made available to him.

Multiple sources said the NEC was called following a successful intervention by Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who met with President Muhammadu Buhari on the ongoing strike.

A branch chairman told Daily Sun that based on a positive response from the meeting between Buhari and Gbajabiamila, NEC has been convened to take a major decision about the strike.

The branch chairman said: “We are not like other unions, whose leaders can just call off strike after meeting with government officials. In ASUU congress is supreme.  It is the congresses that endorsed the ongoing strike. So having heard from the Speaker, we will go back to our Congresses to seek approval to suspend the eight-month strike.

“Before congress, the various zones of ASUU will meet this evening to brief branch chairmen of what government has offered. The chairmen will in turn summon branch congresses to deliberate and take a decision of whether to accept the offer and suspend the strike or reject and mandate NEC to continue with the strike.

“From indication, the meeting between the president and speaker yielded positive result, thus the zonal meetings and branch congresses as well as NEC meeting to take the decision.”

The chairman told our Correspondent that the president may have agreed to pay the withheld seven months salaries of academic and non-teaching staff in federal universities.

“I am sure other decision on major demands were taken to the Villa. The other outstanding demands are crucial to the struggle. If the congresses accepts the president offer, NEC will suspend the strike.

“Definitely,  if NEC suspends the eight-month strike, academic activities will certainly resume on Monday, October 17, 2022 while expecting government to do the needful as regards the seven months salaries,” he stated.

ASUU on February 14 embarked on strike to press home the implementation of their demands, which date back to 2009 FG/ASUU agreement, the use of new pay platform (UTAS) developed by the union in place of IPPIS, non payment of earned academic Allowance and other outstanding demands.

The union rolled over the strike twice and then in August, it declared total, comprehensive and indefinite strike.

ASUU met government officials several times and it ended in a deadlock.

Following the prolonged strike, the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS) staged protests in various cities, blocked major highways and disrupted activities at the Airport in Lagos.

The Federal Government dragged ASUU to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), which directed the union to go  back to the classrooms.

ASUU through it lawyers appealed the NICN ruling at the Appeal Court but the upper court asked the union to comply with the judgment.

Apparently, to break the monopoly enjoyed by ASUU, the Federal Government last week registered two new unions in the Nigerian University System (NUS)