An aide to the Presidency, Femi Adesina, has stated that President Muhammadu Buhari is willing to end the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike “once and for all.”
On Friday, he said on Channels Television’s Politics Today, that the varsity teachers’ strike had been going on for years.
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Adesina said,
He (Buhari) appealed to ASUU to consider the plight of those young ones. It shows that the president is ready to have this matter resolved once and for all.
He said President Buhari is working to find a long-term solution to the strike, adding that there have been ASUU strikes “under everyone.”
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Last week, I saw something on Facebook that Alhaji Shehu Shagari was appealing to ASUU to go back to class. Alhaji Shagari ruled 43 years ago. And he was appealing to ASUU to go back to school.
Adesina further stressed;
That shows you that this is an endemic issue. Left to the government, the students will go back tomorrow but then the issue has to be resolved conclusively so that in another six weeks, eight weeks, or six months, we don’t go back to where we are today.
It would not vitiate the legacy of the president in any way because this dates back in time. It was there under Shagari; and it was there under Buhari as a military leader; it was there under Babangida, and it was there under Shonekan — under everybody.
Meanwhile, Chris Ngige, the Labour Minister, expressed optimism on Friday that recent deals negotiated with ASUU, and other education unions will bear fruit next week.
Ngige made the claim while speaking to reporters shortly after a meeting about the continuing strike actions by school unions.
The Minister stated,
We had a cordial and fruitful discussion; we looked at the issues dispassionately and reached some agreements, to the satisfaction of everybody in attendance.
Stakeholders discussed. Everybody was happy. We reached some agreements and we hope that by next week, those agreements will start maturing,
