Tobias Sylvester
President Muhammadu Buhari has pleaded with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to consider the plight of students and call off the ongoing strike.
Buhari Speaks On ASUU Strike
The President made the appeal at the 19th National Productivity Day Celebration and Conferment of the National Productivity Order of Merit Award at the State House Conference Centre, Abuja.
Buhari urged ASUU to consider the plight of students, adding that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) should exercise patience as the federal government is working on resolving the strike.
He said the government had continued to strive in order to address the nagging issues in the nation’s university system within the ambit of the resources available.
The president said he had, on February 1, directed Ibrahim Gambari, his chief of staff; Adamu Adamu, minister of education; and Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment, to work together to address the concerns of the union.
This was contained in a statement by his spokesman, Femi Adesina, titled, ‘At National Productivity Day Awards, President Buhari appeals to ASUU to call off strike’.
Buhari’s appeal comes three days after ASUU extended its ongoing warning strike by 12 weeks to give the Federal Government more time to satisfactorily resolve its issues.
KanyiDaily recalls that ASUU had embarked on a warning strike since February 14, over the failure of the federal government to meet its demands.
Amid the strike, the government and the union have held a series of meetings, but no agreement has been reached by both sides on ending the strike.
