Leader of the peaceful protest and Vice President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) (Special Duties), Odiahi Thomas Ikhine, explained they embarked on the protest to register their displeasure with the ASUU strike which has kept them (students) at home for months.
He, therefore, called on the governor to emulate the Kogi State example where there is no union and the academic calendar goes smoothly without strikes.
In his response, Governor Godwin Obaseki assured the protesting students that his government would take necessary actions to reopen the university.
Represented by his Special Adviser on Media Projects, Crusoe Osagie, Obaseki said education remains a top priority of the government and will expedite action to ensure the students get back to classes.
“Incessant strikes have become a problem in our higher institutions. Our proposition as a government is that at some point, our lecturers should put the interest of the students above their own. We believe the reason they sit at home during the ASUU strike is that at the end of the day, whether they teach or not, they will be paid, and this is wrong.
“We call on university lecturers and workers in the university to come together and make a decision in the best interest of the students because the government is willing to support the institution with the resources it needs to run,” the governor said.
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