Deputy Whip of the Lagos State House of Assembly, Rotimi Abiru, has called on President Goodluck Jonathan to immediately meet with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), with a view to putting an end to the ongoing strike, which has lasted for about 78 days.
Abiru, who spoke in a telephone interview at the weekend, also appealed to ASUU to go into dialogue with the Federal Government in order for students to return to their various institutions of learning.
The lawmaker, who is representing Shomolu Constituency 2, wondered why “a man who has been causing crises in Rivers State”, would be asked to take over “from a professor; it is so unfortunate that a former council chairman will be asked to take over from a professor.”
He maintained that the Federal Government needs to answer certain questions as to why the former Minister of Education was sacked, adding that “a man like Nyesom Wike, who has through his recent comments committed a lot of atrocities, taking over as Education Minister leaves a lot to be desired.
While lamenting that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)-led Federal Government has failed Nigerians in several aspects of the economy, Abiru called on the Jonathan-led administration to wake up to its responsibilities.
“The Federal Government must wake up to its responsibilities and know that the future of our tomorrow’s leaders is at stake and more importantly is the effect this strike will have on our youth. Recently, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) threatened to shut down activities in private universities if nothing is done on time.
“So I want to appeal to the Federal Government to meet the requests of this people and allow the students to return to school,” he added.
