By Ayo Kehinde
The Federal Government has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to shelve its planned nationwide strike, assuring that concrete steps are being taken to address the union’s longstanding demands.
Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, made the appeal on Wednesday at a press briefing in Abuja, stating that President Bola Tinubu has directed relevant ministries and agencies to work urgently to prevent a disruption of academic activities across universities.
Alausa said the government is “working tirelessly at the highest levels” to provide what he described as a “robust but affordable response” to ASUU’s concerns.
He noted that while many of the issues raised by the union have persisted for over a decade, the Tinubu administration has shown the political will to bring them to an end.
“Most of the concerns raised by ASUU have already been addressed,” the minister assured.
ASUU had on Monday issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to meet its seven-point demands or face a two-week warning strike.
The ultimatum followed the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on September 28 at the University of Abuja.
Among ASUU’s key demands are the re-negotiation and implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, sustainable university funding and revitalisation, as well as an end to the alleged victimisation of its members at Lagos State University (LASU), Kogi State University (now Prince Abubakar Audu University), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
The minister expressed optimism that ongoing engagements between the government and ASUU would yield positive results, urging the union to embrace dialogue in the interest of students and the nation’s higher education system.
