The federal government yesterday asked members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to consider putting an end to the industrial action it embarked on and return to work. This is as the minister of state for finance,Yerima Ngama, denied that the ministry had withheld funds meant for the power sector. The appeal was made after the Federal Executive Council (FEC) presided over by Vice-President Namadi Sambo deliberated on the strike as part of a general overview of the education sector. Minister of interior, Mr Abba Moro while briefing journalists after FEC meeting said council resolved to establish negotiations with the striking lecturers at the cabinet level towards finding a lasting solution. Noting that FEC expressed worry about the effect of the lecturers’ resort to strike on the polity, the minister called on ASUU to also reconsider the usual resort to downing of tools when it has grievances against government, just as he urged the union to start considering other means of extracting its demands from government. According to Moro, “the federal government was not unmindful of the challenges in the education sector which has seen students seeking for ‘greener pasture’ in foreign educational institutions, including those in neighbouring Benin Republic. Government was therefore, determined to curb the trend which it considers a waste of national assets and foreign exchange”. Minister of state for finance, Yerima Ngama, argued that accusation by the House of Representatives that the ministry had been delaying release of funds for the power sector, resulting to the continued inadequate and unsatisfactory electricity supply across the country was not true. Contending that the ministry had been doing a lot to aid the ministry of power achieve its mandate of providing adequate electricity supply to Nigerians, Ngama cited the oversubscribed $1 billion bond floated by the federal government to fund electricity infrastructure in the country, as well as the release of appropriate funds for power sector reforms. - See more at: leadership.ng/news/110713/fg-begs-asuu-call-strike#sthash.uvzw4zxv.dpuf — in Abuja, Abuja Capital Territory.
Posted on: Thu, 11 Jul 2013 06:30:42 +0000
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