The Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, was advised to come up with a solution that would put an end to the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The National Youth Fellowship of the Praying Band Cherubim and Seraphim church made the call on Monday just as the two-week ultimatum issued by the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), to the minister to end the impasse expires on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press briefing heralding its 20th anniversary at the church headquarters in Lagos on Monday, the fellowship’s youth leader, Afolabi Olaoke, said the lingering strike has become a source of concern, having kept students at home for months.
He urged the Federal Government to prioritise the strike action and ensure that public universities reopen this month.
He said, “As the youth wing of the church, we won’t turn deaf ears to the recent happenings in our country, especially the one that directly impacts members of our fellowship; which is the ASUU Strike.
“We can recall that academic activities across our public universities were shut down and students were sent back home on February 14, 2022, over the inability of the Federal Government to implement agreements it had with the Academic Staff Union of Universities in previous years; it is almost six months now and everything is still on hold.
“In the past week, we saw the efforts of the Nigeria Labour Congress under the leadership of Ayuba Wabba by marching to the streets in a solidarity protest in support of the strike. However, we hope this will bring a drastic change and cause a positive effect on the ongoing strike.
“It is also worth noting that the President, on July 19, issued a two-week ultimatum to the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to resolve the impasse. As the ultimatum ends tomorrow (today), we urge the minister to ensure that the outcome yields good fruit so our students can return to school.
“We rise as a voice in this nation to beckon once again on the Federal Government to make the ASUU strike action a priority and make sure that public universities are reopened this month.”
Olaoke also admonished Nigerian youths to be politically-active.
Source : Punch
