On Tuesday, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is expected to meet with representatives of the Federal Government to discuss its protracted strike.
The meeting was to discuss one of the seven topics that ASUU is protesting, according to Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, president of ASUU, who made the announcement on Monday while appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“That’s the issue of renegotiation,” Osodeke told.
“The renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.
“It’s not just about wages. It has to do with the system, funding, structure, autonomy, and other issues and how to fund universities.
“The government has reduced it to just salaries alone. But if they had looked at the whole agreement and implemented it, we would not be talking about funding.”
Osodeke also suggested that if Tuesday’s meeting goes well, the strike action may be called off.
“We are willing to sign,” he expanded.
Recall that on February 14, ASUU forced the closure of public universities due to the Federal Government’s failure to carry out prior agreements that both sides had signed.
University Transparency Accountability Solution, earned academic allowances, promotion backlogs, and other issues are among those that the academics are protesting.
![Rev. Fr. Anthony Odiong, a US-based Nigerian Louisiana Catholic priest, was arrested in Florida on Tuesday for possessing child pornography, according to law authorities. The suspect is reportedly accused of many other cases of sexual assault. The Waco, Texas, Police Department announced in a Facebook post on Tuesday that officers detained Father Anthony Odiong in Ave Maria, Florida, with assistance from the United States Marshals Service. Waco police announced in March that they had received "credible information" about a sexual assault allegedly committed by Odiong in Texas in 2012. “During the subsequent investigation, a case of possession of child pornography was uncovered,” the police said. The priest was apprehended in Florida by the Caribbean Regional Fugitive Task Force. The Waco Police Department said that he will be extradited to Texas. Odiong had previously served in the Archdiocese of New Orleans before being removed as priest in December of last year due to controversy over homilies in which he claimed, among other things, that the Catholic Church was being taken over by "the gays." At the time, the priest was also accused of abusive behaviour; a Louisiana lady claimed in U.S. bankruptcy court that Odiong had committed both financial and sexual abuse against her. Prior to joining the New Orleans Archdiocese, Odiong served in at least two Texas parishes. On Tuesday, Waco police stated that during their sexual assault investigation, "the presence of other survivors was revealed." “Multiple women have come forward to tell similar experiences as the sexual assault survivor who reported the initial allegation,” the police department said. “Survivors’ experiences ranged from sexual assault and indecent assault, more commonly recognised as groping, and financial abuse, with some survivors experiencing every element of Anthony Odiong’s manipulation.” The police said they “believe there may be more survivors, and we wish to speak with anyone who [has] had similar encounters” with the priest. The Archdiocese of New Orleans issued a brief news release on Tuesday noting Odiong's arrest in Florida. The archdiocese “encourages anyone with any information to contact law enforcement,” the release said.](https://chronicle.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/ezgif-6-4730550ede-450x300.jpg "Odiong: US-based Nigerian Catholic priest convicted over sexual assault")
