THE hope of a pos sible suspension of the long-running industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was put on hold as the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union on Tuesday, failed to finalise issues on the agreement reached with the Federal Government.

The leadership of ASUU, rising from its clandestine NEC meeting held in Abuja, decided that in line with the tradition of the union, the branch chapters would have to hold congresses to make input into the final decision.

National President of ASUU, Professor Ukachukwu Awuzie, said that the NEC had agreed that the branches of ASUU should make input into the decision reached with the Education Minister, Dr. Sam Egwu, before the NEC would take the next step.

He said: “We decided that the branch chapters of our union should make input into the decisions reached with Governor Adams Oshiomhole and the Minister of Education, Dr. Sam Egwu.”

He said that the branches were given up till the end of this week to call their congresses and discuss on the issues.

Governor Oshiomhole was asked by President Umaru Yar’Adua to mediate in the impasse, following the pulling out of the Federal Government from further negotiation with the ASUU on the insistence that the lecturers should first call off the strike for negotiation to continue.

Though, the other staff unions of the universities had accused the Federal Government of leaving them while reaching agreements with ASUU, in the new peace process brokered by Governor Oshiomhole, it was gathered that ASUU was already prepared to bow to the pressure from the public to call off the strike.

Meanwhile, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), University of Ibadan branch, has shut all gates leading into the university with a resolve that all the gates would remain closed for seven days.

SSANU said it was doing this to make the Federal Government acceed to its request for better condition of service for its members .

The closure, which started on Monday and continued on Tuesday, had paralysed all activities in the institution as people could not easily gain entry or leave the university.

SSANU members took over the university’s main gate and displayed various placards and sang songs, calling on the Federal Government not to ignore their demands.

The workers, who defied the early morning downpour around the university area, regretted that the authorities had continued to toy with the future of the youth who, they said, were the direct beneficiaries of the university education, pointing out that the trend portended danger for the country.

Chairman of the University of Ibadan (UI) branch of SSANU, Mr. Jonathan Omolona, described as “ridiculous,” the claim in some quarters that it was only the Academic Staff Union Universities (ASUU) that was relevant in the current struggle embarked upon by all categories of the nation’s university work force.

“We were appalled by the negotiating team from the Federal Government led by Edo State governor, Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, claiming that it had the mandate to negotiate with only ASUU at the expense of other unions,” saying “their effort will fail as long as they refuse to carry others along.”