The National President, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, has sympathised with University students over the prolonged strike by the Union.
Osodeke made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria on Thursday in Ota.
He was reacting to the N34 billion released by the federal government for payment of minimum wage consequential adjustment.
NAN reports that ASUU has been on strike since Feb. 14 over improved welfare package, better working conditions and the implementation of various labour agreements signed with the federal government between 2009 and 2020.
He said the students were suffering for Nigeria’s future and education system.
The ASUU president said the students were not being punished but paying the price to ensure that Nigeria had a good education system.
“ASUU sympathises with them, and we believe that with what is going on, if we continue with the struggle, we will have an education system where Nigerian students will have the same lecture rooms with their foreign counterparts,”Osodeke said.
The ASUU president said there was no need to call off the strike when the federal government had not attended to their demands.
He, therefore, called on the federal government to do the needful as the N34 billion released was not part of their demands.
NAN reports that the federal government had on Tuesday released N34 billion for the payment of consequential adjustment for minimum wage of workers in the education system.