Mallam Adamu Adamu, Minister of Education
THE National Association of Nigerian Students,NANS, the umbrella body of students in Nigerian Universities, has given the Federal Government FG and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, December 31 deadline to resolve their differences and call off the ongoing strike, vowing that it would mobilize members to disrupt the 2019 general elections if both sides remained adamant after expiration of the deadline.
Addressing the media in Abuja,NANS Zone A Coordinator,Umar Faruk Lawal, regretted that after several meetings, both government and ASUU were yet to reach agreement with a view to calling off the ongoing strike.
To this end, he warned:” Today, we want to announce to the federal government, the ASUU and to the whole world that very soon, we are coming out in full force. It’s not a threat to the government neither is it a threat to ASUU, we are not afraid of anybody that wants to jeopardize the future of the Nigerian students or the Nigerian masses. We are coming out and we are going to hold the entire nation stagnant. By that time ,we will shut down airports and major roads across Nigeria
“We are warning the federal government and not appealing to them because it’s our right. Most of our leaders, from the president to the permanent secretaries went to school free of charge but some of us go to do bricklayer work to come and pay our school fees while some hang around in campuses to do one or two printing work to pay their fees.
“I want this message to reach the table of the president that 2019 is around the corner. All the PVCs of the Nigerian students are not meant for the government that is not taking good care of our educational sector. If they don’t call off this strike before the end of December 31,2018, we as NANS are going to resolve it for them, ”he said.