As the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike enters its sixth month, President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Federal government’s team, headed by Adamu Adamu, the education minister, to resolve the issue within the next two weeks and report back to him.
BusinessDay sources close to the meeting revealed that at the meeting with the relevant federal government team at the Presidential Villa, on Tuesday, it was discovered the Education Minister had not done enough to resolve the lingering crises.
The leadership of ASUU had February 14, 2022, declared a warning strike, to draw government attention to the rots in the education sector, occasioned by government inability to fulfill agreements entered into with the body, since 1999.
At the meeting attended by the Ministers of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed, Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, Education, Adamu Adamu, Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, Ekpo Nta, Chairman, National Salaries and Wages Commission, Digital Economy and Ben Akabueze, Director General, (DG) Budget Office, the President received briefing from the government team and mandated the Education Minister to workout modalities for resolving the crisis.
Read also: Nigerians unhappy with ASUU’s intended temporary suspension of strike
The meeting was summoned by the President as pressures mount on the federal government to resolve the six months old crises or risk total collapse of the economy, following threats by other major government institutions to join in the ASUU strike.
President Muhammadu Buhari had on Monday in Daura, Katsina State, called on ASUU members to reconsider their position on the prolonged strike, expressing worry that the hiatus will have generational consequences on families, the educational system and future development of the country.
The President had while receiving some governors of the All Progressives Congress (APC), legislators and political leaders at his residence, in Daura, said the strike had already taken a toll on the psychology of parents, students and other stakeholders, throwing up many moral issues that already beg for
attention.
President Buhari noted that the future of the country rests on the quality of educational institutions and education, while assuring that the government understands their position, and negotiations should continue, with students in lecture halls.
“We hope that ASUU will sympathise with the people on the prolonged strike. Truly, enough is enough for keeping students at home. Don’t hurt the next generation for goodness sake,” he said.
The President called on all well meaning Nigerians, particularly those close to the leaders and members of the association, to intervene in persuading the lecturers to reconsider their position, and the ripple effect on an entire generation and the nation.
More later.
