Buhari orders Education Minister to end ASUU strike within 2 weeks

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday ordered the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to resolve the five month-old strike embarked upon by the Academics Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and similar unions and report back to him in two weeks time.

The directive was issued at the Presidential Villa when he was briefed by officials of the government Ministries, Agencies and Departments involved in resolving the face-off with the university unions.

Aside ASUU, three other unions that embarked on strike as a result of the alleged inability of the federal government to meet up with their demands, are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities. (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

Some other trade unions and groups are also reportedly threatening to join the university staff in solidarity strike if the issues are not resolved quickly.

Against this background, President Buhari summoned the Tuesday, and after hearing from the relevant MDAs directly involved, and according to sources at the meeting, ordered the Minister of Education to resolve the matter within two weeks.

The sources also disclosed that President Buhari directed that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, SGF, Mr. Boss Mustapha, must be in any of the meetings towards resolving the crisis.

Those at the meeting were the Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu; the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr. Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Ngige; 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.