President Muhammadu Buhari has given the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, two weeks ultimatum to end the prolonged industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other university-based unions.
President Buhari issued the ultimatum on Tuesday after he received briefings from the relevant government Ministries, Departments, and Agencies (MDAs) involved in the ongoing efforts to resolve the strike issue with the university unions.
The President had summoned them to get more information on why the strike had persisted for too long.
After the briefing, Buhari ordered the education minister to ensure that the areas of disagreement were sorted out within two weeks and report back to him.
It would be recalled that ASUU commenced a one-month warning strike on February 14, and other unions also joined them over the alleged inability of the federal government to meet up with their demands.
According to sources, Buhari directed that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, must be in any of the meetings to resolve the crisis, and the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Boss Mustapha, should be part of the team to interface with the striking unions.
In attendance at the meeting were the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu, the Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Dr Zainab Ahmed, and the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige.
Others include the Minister of Communications and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami, the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folashade Yemi-Esan, the Chairman of National Salaries Income and Wages Commission, Ekpo Nta, the Director-General Budget Office, Ben Akabueze.