A’Ibom Gov Urges FG, ASUU to End Strike

Akwa Ibom State Governor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel has appealed to both the federal government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to end the ongoing strike action and re-open the universities for the students to return to school.

Emmanuel, a presidential aspirant of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), said the time “has come for both the federal government and ASUU to climb down from their high horses and avert a disaster that may strike the country’s educational system if the strike is not quickly called off and the universities reopened for studies.”

He made the call yesterday in a statement by the spokesperson of the Udom Emmanuel Presidential Council, Bola Bolawole.

In his statement, Emmanuel said the discussions are already going on in some foreign countries where our people, especially our youths, run for greener pastures, to withdraw their recognition of university certificates from Nigeria.

“God forbid that this should happen! The all-round effects on our people are better imagined than felt.

“According to data from the country’s apex Bank, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigeria’s Diaspora remittances inflow for the first nine months of 2021 rose to $14.2 billion, up 10 percent Year-on-Year from $12.9 billion in the corresponding period of 2020 and beating the World Bank quarter-on-quarter projections for the same period.

“This is second only to foreign exchange earned from the oil sector. Nothing must be done to adversely affect its growth in the short- and long-term. If university certificates from Nigeria are no longer recognised, how can our people flooding into countries abroad for further studies and job opportunities fulfil their dreams?

“How can the Nigerian Government benefit from the bounteous energies of the Nigerian people in Diaspora noted all over the world for their resilience, industry, and capacity to excel and hold their own against the world’s best?