ASUU strike: Nigeria’s Education Minister asked to resign

The Student Wing of the Coalition of Northern Groups (CNG-SW), has called for the immediate resignation of the Minister of Education for walking out on Nigerian students, describing his action as shameful, TopNaija reports.

The agitating group also described the education minister as lacking the political will, capacity and willingness to resolve the lingering Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) crisis.

While lamenting that the four-week warning strike was already in its third week yet there seems to be no hope in sight, the CNG-SW says it will collaborate with the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) as well as other relevant stakeholders to shut down the country if the Federal Government fails to resolve the matter before the stipulated deadline given by ASUU.

Comrade Jamilu Aliyu Charanchi, the leader of the student’s wing made the declaration while briefing newsmen at the CNG Secretariat in Katsina on Thursday.

“While we commend the effort of the apex student’s body, the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) in calling attention to the implications of such actions, we condemn with all our might the shameful walk out on NANS by the Minister of Education.

“We see the action of the Minister as a gross show of unconscionable immorality, insensitivity, and impunity abhorrent to the collective sensibilities of the students, parents and indeed the country at large,” he said.

Charanchi further lamented why people who are elected into office could be so indifferent or afraid to stand for what is right and just. He described the situation as disheartening and quite unfortunate to all well-meaning Nigerians “seeing people in government today who in their life history benefited from the generosity and welfare of the Nigerian state but are now denying the same for the new generation. We urge the government to reconsider and rescind its decision.”

While noting that the current strike is the second industrial action embarked on by ASUU in less than two years, and the 16th since the inception of the fourth republic democracy in 1999, The CNG-SW leader expressed concern at the frequency of the disruption of the Nigerian education system, frustrating the ambitions and aspirations of the youth to acquire knowledge.

Meanwhile, the Federal Government, yesterday, expressed the hope that the one-month warning strike embarked upon by Academic State Union of Universities, ASUU, on February 14, 2022, would soon end.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, expressed the hope of an end of the warning strike when he spoke with newsmen at the end of a conciliation meeting between government and the union.

Ngige said the meeting agreed on many issues and a timeline was scheduled for the implementation of the agreements.