The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, on Tuesday, canvassed for a soften way of resolving the industrial action between the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the Federal Government
Speaking at intervention meeting of the leadership of the House and leaders of lecturers in Abuja, the Speaker advised that the Federal Government must find a middle ground towards resolving the strike action that has lasted for seven months.
This came just as the President of ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, warned that it would not bode well for the students if the court forced lecturers to return to call off the strike action for now.
According to the Speaker, “We are here to see how we can close this dark chapter in our nation’s history. There is a need for both sides to shift grounds by the Federal Government and ASUU. It should not be about my way or the highway. It should be about given and take. We have to seek to come to a resolution at the end of the day. We have to take a significant step towards achieving that.
The ASUU President, who was emotional in his remarks, said the strike was only a symptom of the problem in the system, which was the decaying state of University education in the country.
ASUU President said that the lecturers had never been called by the Ministry of Education to address the matter since the strike began.
According to him, “no one would go around the universities in the county today and say everything is okay. Our public universities would soon be like public primary schools if nothing is don’t to address the situation,” he said.
He disclosed that “95 per cent of students are in public universities, while only five per cent are in private schools, hence the need to address the problem urgently.”
In his brief remarks, Minister of State for Education, Goodluck Oppiah, said that the strike was of concern to all stakeholders especially the Ministry of Education.
He said the intervention by the House was an addition to steps already being taken by the Executive to address the problem.
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