President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU to return to work, saying his government will address their demands based on the available resources.
ASUU, the umbrella body of university lecturers in the country has been on strike since February this year and has vowed to stay away from the campuses until their demands are met.
The Union and the federal government are currently in court after they failed to resolve the problem through negotiations.
The House of Representatives Speaker, Femi Gbajabiamila had met with the striking lecturers this week in the last-ditch effort to broker an agreement between the contending parties.
Gbajabiamila promised after the meeting to meet with President Buhari next week to find ways to resolve the problems.
Speaking during his Independence Day address earlier today, the president said education is key in his administration’s quest to ensure that Nigeria takes its prime place among the committee of nations.
He also expressed his dissatisfaction with the disruptions in the university academic calendar due to frequent strikes by the members of the union, adding that his government has done its best to address the 11 years ASUU crisis.
Buhari said, “As we put in place all measures to ensure that Nigeria takes her place in the Comity of Nations, we recognise the importance of a well-educated populace as a panacea to most of the challenges we face.
“We have, therefore, pursued policies and implemented programmes designed to create a literate and proficient society that ensures that citizens are availed with opportunities for life-long achievements.
“I must confess that I am very pained by the recurring disruption to our tertiary education system and I am using this Independence Day celebration to reiterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available.
“This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues that have been lingering for over eleven years.
“The Federal Government will continue to mobilise resources both internationally and nationally towards funding education to ensure that our citizens are well educated and skilled in various vocations in view of the fact that education is a leading determinant of economic growth and employment generation.”
