INCOMING: WE'LL DELIVER JONATHAN'S MESSAGE TO OUR MEMBERS - DR. NASIR FAGGE

After the end of the marathon meeting with President Goodluck Jonathan in Abuja on Monday, which lasted for about 13 hours, the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said they would now go and brief their members on the details of the discussions.
The Chairman of...
ASUU, Dr. Nasir Fagge, told the reporters in the early
hours of November 5, 2013, Tuesday, at the State House that the
leaders would take the President's message back to their members.
Dr. Fagge, who wore broad smiles afar emerging from the meeting venue
at about 3.35 a.m. did not say what the message was when he spoke with
the correspondents.
"Well we have had lengthy meeting with Mr. President, rubbing minds
on how best to address the problem of University education in this
country.
"And we now have a message from Mr. President we are going to take to
our members. And we are expecting that our members will respond
appropriately to the message of Mr. President."
On whether the lecturers are going back to the classroom, he said:
"That is up to our members."
Asked what the message was, he said: "I can't tell you. It's not for
you. It is for our members."
If impressed with the message, he said: "Don't put words into my
mouth.Our members will determine that."
The Labour Minister, Emeka Wogu, who also spoke with the press, just
said what was discussed did not go beyond the 2009 agreement.
The meeting with the President had begun at the Presidential Villa,
Abuja, around 2.40 p.m. on Monday, after ASUU had also met with the
President of the Senate, Senator David Mark.
It would be mentioned that it was the first meeting between the
striking union and President Goodluck Jonathan since the strike began
1 July, shutting down almost all state and Federal Government owned
universities in Nigeria.
The Federal Government had initially offered the striking lecturers
N30billion to pay for allowances piled up since government and the
union hammered out an agreement in 2009. Government also offered
N100billion to pay for improvements of facilities in the universities
and later increased this to N200billion on a yearly basis.
ASUU rejected the offer as too small and insisted on government
implementing in full the 2009 agreement.