President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday in Abuja met behind closed doors with the leadership of the House of Representatives over the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, led officials of the Lower Chamber to the meeting.
Speaking to State House correspondents at the end of the meeting, Mr Gbajabiamila described the engagement with the president as very fruitful.
He disclosed that the president had pledged to look into the House’s recommendations aimed at resolving the ongoing strike embarked upon by the university lecturers over eight months ago.
”Mr President as usual has very good listening ears. He took the report of the House, he accepted it, we discussed it at length – the details of the report. He wanted to go through it himself.
”We have another meeting on Thursday between our good selves and Mr President for his final decision,” he said.
The speaker stated that the recommendations submitted to the president were the outcomes of series of meetings with stakeholders in the nation’s education sector.
According to Mr Gbajabiamila, the president has agreed to go through the report and asked for some days to digest it after which he will make a final decision by Thursday.
The speaker assured Nigerians that the ongoing strike by the lecturers would soon be over as both parties (ASUU and the federal government) had agreed to shift ground for the general good of the country.
The House leadership met with ASUU and other government agencies twice in September with a view to ending the union’s seven month old strike.
The union has been on strike since February 14.
It however declared “total and indefinite” extension of the strike in August as government could not meet its demands for improved welfare, revitalisation of public universities and academic autonomy among others.
(NAN)
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