PRESIDENT Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end its ongoing industrial action.
The President made the appeal during the 19th National Productivity Day Celebration and Conferment of National Productivity Order of Merit Award, held at the State House Conference Centre, in Abuja on Thursday.
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Buhari urged the leadership of ASUU to consider the plight of the students and call off industrial action.
He recalled his February 1 directive to his Chief of Staff Ibrahim Gambari, and the ministers of education and labour, to address the concerns of the striking university lecturers.
The President, in the same vein, urged the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) to exercise patience, and assured that the government will resolve the crisis.
The ICIR reported that ASUU on Monday extended the strike by three months.
Among other issues, the union is demanding funding for the revitalisation of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances and promotion arrears, and the adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) for payment of its members’ salaries.
Usman Mustapha is a solution journalist with International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: [email protected]. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M