The presidency has said that it was the education minister that asked for two to three weeks within which time he can secure an agreement that will resolve the lingering Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike.
Some media reports had said that President Muhammadu Buhari gave the minister a two-weeks ultimatum within which to break the logjam.
A statement to put the records straight, by Garba Shehu, Senior special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity), said that at the meeting between Buhari and relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to end the agitations by university unions on Tuesday, the education minister also “requested that the Minister of Labour hands off the negotiation to allow him lead and conclude what he had earlier on started” with the ASUU.
The statement noted that the outcome of the meeting had been subjected to “spin-doctoring and conjectures,” appealing to the media not to try “to spread misinformation,” stressing that “the orchestrated media narratives seeking to present an entirely different picture, attributed to sources, in the last 24 hours are not helpful at all.”
Shehu pointed out that in carrying out the assignment he had taken on, the education minister “will carry along all relevant ministries and agencies with statutory functions and duties relating to the issues involved.
“The Presidency is optimistic that agreements can be reached in an even shorter period if all parties/stakeholders are not unrealistically obstinate. We appeal to the parties to work together to end the strikes.
“On the part of the administration, all doors remain open for dialogue and the resolution of the issues.”
