ASUU: Secret Meeting of Education Minister and Strikers

Supervising Minister of Education, Mr. Nyesom Wike, on Tuesday met with the Academic Staff Union of Universities in Abuja.

It is not known whether the meeting which lasted barely one hour gave the desirable results.
Interestingly, the ASUU President, Dr. Nasir Fagge and the minister refused to speak with the journalists after the meeting was over.

Fagge gave no responses to the questions regarding the meeting and the next steps to be taken.

He just told one of our correspondents that, “I am not in a position to talk.”

The following people were also involved in the occasion: the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission, Prof. Julius Okojie; the Vice-Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Prof. Isaac Adewole and a few national officers of the union.

Also, Vice-President Namadi Sambo on Tuesday had a brief meeting with stakeholders in the nation’s education sector. It was held at the Presidential Villa, Abuja by Wike.

Other members of the delegation included Okojie and Adewole.

When brief session came to an end, none of its members agreed to speak with journalists.

Other members of the team who had left the venue of the meeting just a few minutes before Wike came out claimed that the minister would address journalists.

But all the attempts by media to receive any comments also failed.

No official statement was also issued by the Vice President’s office on the meeting.

Meanwhile, the Pan-Yoruba Socio-Cultural group, the Afenifere has appealed to both the Federal Government and the ASUU strikers asking them to shift grounds in the interest of the future of the students and education sector in general. It was stated in a communique issued by the group and read to journalists by its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Yinka Odumakin, after the meeting of the group, on Tuesday in Akure.In a statement signed by its President, Ajadi Muhideen and Public Relations Officer, Sulyman Alimi, on Tuesday in Ilorin, NAKSS urged the President to personally involve in the negotiation saying that such act by Jonathan would further show his commitment to education growth and advancement.

They believe that such direct involvement will help to resolve the issue quicker.

It also pointed out that there was inadequate lecture rooms in many tertiary institutions, adding that under-furnished lecture halls, poorly equipped or lack of laboratories were some of the challenges facing the nation’s institutions.

NAKSS urged other labour unions in the country to embark on solidarity strike.