Fact Check: ASUU Calls Off Strike?

Some viral reports on Friday, 25th September 2020 claimed that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called off its months-old strike.

The rumour spread like wildfire across many social media platforms and even became one of the trending topics on the micro-blogging site, Twitter.

This is due to the fact that many students and stakeholders have been eagerly waiting for the day ASUU will call off its industrial action which will allow academic activities to resume in Nigeria’s public universities.

The claim

One of the sites that published the report about ASUU calling off its strike used the headline: BREAKING NEWS: ASUU finally calls off strike, Direct Lecturers to Resume Duties.

It reported that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called off its strike on Wednesday, 23rd September, 2020 after reaching an agreement with the Federal Government.

It also quoted the ASUU President, Professor Abiodun Ogunyemi to have told the union’s executive committee at a meeting that they would suspend the industrial action for one month till the end of October. It said this was to allow the Government enough time to fulfill its promises as contained in the recent agreement with them. To this end, the union directed university lecturers to resume duty effective from Monday 28 September 2020, the report claimed.

The claim also went viral on many social media platforms.

Verification

However, ASUU in a quick reaction has described the report as fake.

Commenting on the speculation, ASUU said “contrary to speculations making the rounds in the social media by
@myschoolnews_Ng that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has called off the strike, nothing of such is true.”

“The Chairman of the University of Lagos, UNILAG chapter of the union, Dr Dele Ashiru, said that nothing of such happened. If we are going to call off our going strike, there is process that will be followed and nothing of such has been done.”

Contrary to speculations making the rounds in the social media by @myschoolnews_Ng that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has called off strike, nothing of such is true pic.twitter.com/aV0ZPPUUyB

— Official_ASUU (@ASUUNGR) September 25, 2020

Verdict

The report on Friday, September 25, 2020 claiming that ASUU has called off its strike is false and should be disregarded.