The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari(retd), has issued a two-week ultimatum to the Minister for Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu, to resolve the ongoing strike of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
Punch Metro reported that students have been forced to stay away from schools since ASSU commenced its nationwide strike on February 14.
The union embarked on industrial action over the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System of the government as the payment system in the university sector, the poor funding of universities, non-payment of salaries and allowances of some of their colleagues, as well as the inability of the government to pay earned academic allowance to lecturers, among other issues.
However, the president, according to The PUNCH, summoned the meeting, which included the Adamu and other relevant agencies, to receive a briefing from the government representatives on why the strike had lingered for too long.
Buhari was also said to have instructed that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, as well as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha, to be in attendance at all the meetings to speedily resolve the crisis.
Present at the meeting were Adamu, Ngige, and Mustapha, as well as the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Ahmed; the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; the Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan; the Chairman of National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta; and the Director-General Budget Office, Ben Akabueze.
