The minister of Labour and Productivity, Chukwuemeka Wogu, has raised hopes of universities across the country reopening in January. Briefing journalists in Aba, Abia, on Thursday, Mr Wogu said that negotiations between the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the lingering industrial dispute would be resolved soon.www.mannastores.com
He said the federal government had been meeting with ASUU since the strike commenced early in the month, while promising that by January, an agreement would be reached. According to him, getting the lecturers back to the classrooms is the main problem.
Wogu said the government was looking critically and taking holistic approach to the contentious issues with a view to resolving them.
“It is not that the government has been keeping quiet since the present strike began; we’ve been meeting with representatives of ASUU and hopefully, by January, an agreement will be reached.
“But getting the lecturers back to lecture rooms is the problem. We want to look critically at those things that led to the strike in the first place to deal with them so that they will not re-occur,” he said.
Meanwhile, the minister condemned the Christmas Day bomb blast at Saint Theresa Catholic Church, Madalla, Niger State.
He said the perpetrators of the act did not only commit a crime against the nation, “but sinned against God, who, those that lost their lives in the attack, went to worship.”
Describing the incident as unfortunate, Wogu said it was a sad aspect of the national history that such act could be perpetrated when Christians were celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ.
“This act of terrorism is new to Nigeria so an approach to solving it will also be new but the bottom line is that government is on top of the situation,” he said
ASUU President,Ukachukwu Awuzie (R), speaking at a briefing. Photo/NAN
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