Atiku Abubakar, the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party has pledged to work with university authorities to end incessant strikes which he says have caused unacceptable harm to the ability of Nigerian children to get quality education.
Atiku disclosed this in a statement at a youth programme with the theme “Intergenerational Synergy on Government”, organised by the PDP to commemorate the 2022 International Youth Day celebration in Abuja on Friday.
He added that education is fundamental to Nigeria’s growth, according to the News Agency of Nigeria.
What Atiku is saying
Atiku said the inability of the government to resolve the lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), would not happen under his administration if elected president in the coming general elections.
He said, “I want to pledge that I will work with university authorities and government to make sure we end this incessant strikes by ASUU.
“This is because education is fundamental to your growth. It doesn’t matter whether you are in politics, business or any sector. The fundamental right of every youth or every citizen is to be educated.
“Therefore it is the responsibility of any responsible government to make sure that right is given to every Nigerian, every youth in this country.”
Atiku also promised to provide youths with the opportunities to acquire the training and experience to take over from the older generations. He urged the youth to support the PDP to take over government in 2023 to rescue the youth and the nation.
“I believe that the PDP provides the best platform for you to actualise your individual’s collective and national aspirations,” he said.
In case you missed it
- The ASUU had on February 14, 2022, embarked on a 4-week total and comprehensive strike to press home their unresolved demands on the federal government.
- This was further extended by another 12 weeks on May 9 to give the government enough time to satisfactorily resolve all the outstanding issues after an extension on March 14 due to an alleged lack of seriousness on the part of the federal government.
- Some of the lecturers’ demands include funding for the revitalisation of public universities, payment of earned academic allowances, and adoption of the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) as a preferred payment option, instead of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and payment of promotion arrears.
- Others are the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement and the resolution of inconsistencies in the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
- Nairametrics reported earlier that President Muhammadu Buhari appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to call off the ongoing strike. Buhari said that it was counterproductive for the university lecturers to continue with the strike as its negotiations with the Federal Government had gone far.
