-Ikenna Okafor
Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, Chairman of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has stated that the President’s two-week deadline to end the ASUU strike is too long.
The Chairman stated on Channels Television Politics Today that the negotiations between both parties had concluded and all that remained was for the government to say ‘yes or no’. According to him, the strike action should take no more than two days to resolve.
Earlier, President Buhari met with the Minister of Education to learn more about the ongoing negotiations between ASUU and the federal government. Following the meeting, he requested that the Minister devise a solution to the ongoing strike action and return to him in two weeks.
Furthermore, the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, were directed to attend all meetings to help resolve the situation as soon as possible.
The ASUU Chairman acknowledged President Buhari’s recent directive but emphasized that such news is nothing new, and their body language also demonstrates their lack of desire to resolve the situation.
He also mentioned that this is not the first time the President has formed such a committee to address the problem. When the strike began in February, a similar committee was formed to resolve the strike within one month, but nothing came of it because ASUU was never invited to the table.
The ASUU strike, which began in February 2022, is now in its fifth month, with students and lecturers remaining at home.
Two weeks is too long to end strike’ – ASUU Chairman