Richard Anyebe
The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday said the house is working so hard to end the lingering crisis between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government.
Reps Wade Into ASUU Strike
Gbajabiamila stated this in his remarks at the opening of plenary after the National Assembly returned from its two-month annual break.
According to him, the lawmakers owe the intervention to Nigerian youths and Nigeria’s future.
The speaker had already summoned a stakeholders’ meeting to resolve the crisis.
He had invited the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; Minister of Labour, Employment and Productivity, Chris Ngige; Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu; the national leadership of ASUU and other critical stakeholders.
He said, “It has become necessary for the House to intervene in the extended face-off between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government. This current impasse is due primarily to disagreements over conditions of service of the staff and funding of universities in general.
“Therefore, this afternoon, alongside the leadership of the House and the relevant committees, I will meet with representatives of the ASUU. Our agenda is to explore whatever options there are for parliament to help resolve the present crises so that our children can return to school.
“It is long established that access to education, more than anything else, is key to unlocking prosperity and improving social mobility outcomes in any society. And we all agree that the government has a role in ensuring that our nation’s young people get a quality education that allows them to compete and thrive in the 21st-Century knowledge economy.
“Yet, evidence abounds that the current framework of government-sponsored tertiary education is no longer working as it should and hasn’t worked for a long time. Our immediate goal is to do everything to get our children back to school. However, the time has also come to begin a candid assessment of the current system and to consider all available options for complete reform. We owe this to our children and to our nation’s future.”
Meanwhile, Kanyi Daily had reported that the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) blocked access to the Murtala Muhammed International Airport in Lagos on Monday to protest the prolonged strike.
