The immediate past minister of state for education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, said that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has a case but needs to work with the federal government to resolve it.
Nwajiuba disclosed this while he appeared on Channels’ Politics Today on Sunday.
The former minister said that ASUU is not fighting for its members alone, but for all Nigerians, saying two of his children have been affected by the strike.
He said, “I’m a product of public universities, and currently there are two of my children studying there, the lawyer and the young one.
- “All my four children attended public university; but as a minister and on behalf of the federal government I have apologized for the inconveniences that resulted from the strike.
“I do apologise to Nigerian students because as their minister, I will take responsibility. But also, on behalf of the federal government, I would say ‘please understand what the issues are’.
“All my four children have passed through Nigerian universities. I still have two who are at home now, because they are all in public universities.”
Nwajiuba who spoke also on his presidential ambition said that the federal government has performed better in the education sector that its predecessors.
“We did our best to resolve the issue and I believe the government will not rest. In the last 20 years we had nearly 16 strikes. What I’m saying is this: ASUU is making a case for the entire university system, but strike alone cannot cure the problem,” he added.
