David Mark Advises ASUU,FG to Stand by Agreement
Senate President, David Mark has advised the Federal Government and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to respect the terms of agreement that ended the union’s six-months-old strike so as to avoid a future recurrence.
He said this when the union’s president,Dr. Nasir Isa Fagge; Vice president, Professor Biodun Ogunyemi, former presidents, Dr. Dipo Fashina and Dr. Abdullahi Sule-Kano visited him at his office in Abuja on Thursday to present a signed copy of the agreement reached with the FG.
Mark also advised that the N200 billion education fund lodged at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) vault for the purpose of addressing the ills in the universities, should be put to judicious use.
While admonishing the varsity lecturers to do all that is required to return education in the country to its former glory, Senator David Mark stressed that education remains the bed rock of any nation which must not be compromised.
“Education is the foundation of any development. No nation toils with the education of its citizens. We must make our education strong and functional. We must strive to lay a solid foundation for our future”, he said.
The Senate President sympathized with ASUU on the death of its former President, Prof. Festus Iyayi and advocated for qualitative education as a mark of respect to show that he did not die in vain.
Earlier, ASUU President, Dr. Isa Fagge regretted that the strike action lasted for six months and blamed the unfortunate development on the initial reluctance of government to implement the 2009 agreement it signed with the union.
“I can now confirm that the agreement has been signed between ASUU and Federal Government. The N200 billion education fund has also been credited at the CBN. We have also constituted an implementation monitoring committee on the agreement to avoid any breach”, Fagge said.
