ASUU’s eight-month strike a setback for development of higher education in Nigeria – Atiku

The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, lamented on Friday that the eight-month-old strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was a major setback for the development of higher education in the country.

Atiku stated this in a post on his social media handles.

He was reacting to ASUU’s suspension of the strike that grounded activities in the nation’s universities for more than 200 days.

The union’s President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who announced the suspension of the strike on Friday morning, however, said the lecturers’ demands had not been fully addressed.

ASUU embarked on strike on February 14.

The former Vice President, however, advised the union against incessant strikes and urged the Federal Government to fulfil all agreements reached with the lecturers.

Atiku said: “The last eight months have been a wasted period as far as Nigeria’s higher education and the accrual benefits are concerned.

READ ALSO: ASUU: Gbajabiamila demands radical actions to prevent strikes in varsities

“It is a relief for everyone concerned that the ASUU strike action has been ‘conditionally’ called off.

“Now is a time for reflection and the charting of a new course that will prioritise education as a critical driver of national growth and development.

“It is not negotiable that requisite investment must be channelled into education. And for the organised teachers, they need to understand and appreciate that the constant disruption to the university calendar is damaging to the spirit of scholarship.

“Though the strike action has dragged on for too long, I am thankful to ASUU for suspending the strike and urge the federal government to fulfil its terms of the bargain to ensure that students of higher institutions of learning and their parents do not go through this ordeal again.

”On my part, if I am given the opportunity to preside over the affairs of our country, I’ll prioritise reforms and investment in education.”

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