President Muhammadu Buhari has issued two weeks ultimatum for the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, to resolve the prolonged industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other university-based unions.
The President gave the directive on Tuesday, July 19, 2022, after receiving briefings from the relevant government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) involved in the ongoing efforts to end the face-off with the university unions.
Recall, ASUU strike which began strike on February 14, 2022, before Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Educational Institutions (NASU) National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) joined, entered its sixth month in the night of July 14.
Buhari had summoned them to get more information on why the strike had persisted for too long.
After Tuesday’s briefing, the President ordered the education minister to ensure that the areas of disagreements were sorted out within two weeks and report back to him.
Sources at the meeting also said Buhari directed that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige must be in any of the meetings to resolve the crisis.
The sources added that the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, should be part of the team to interface with the striking unions.
Those at the meeting were the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed, and the Minister of Labour, Senator Chris Ngige.
Others are; the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr. Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Chairman of National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, the Director-General Budget Office, Ben Akabueze.