President Muhammadu Buhari has denied giving the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, a two-week ultimatum to resolve the issues surrounding the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
It was reported on Tuesday that President Buhari gave the Minister the deadline within which to resolve all issues and bring an end to the industrial action by ASUU.
According to the reports, the President also directed that the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, should be present in any future meetings to resolve the crisis.
But in a statement obtained on Thursday by DAILY GIST, the Presidency denied the reports, referring to them as “an orchestrated media narrative seeking to present an entirely different picture”.
The Presidency however stated that the parties involved could reach an agreement in an even shorter period less than the two weeks.
The Presidency made this known via its official Twitter handle.
“Neither during nor after the meeting was any ultimatum given to the Minister of Education.
“During the meeting, the Minister of Education requested that the Minister of Labour hands off the negotiation to allow him lead and conclude what he had earlier started with ASUU, and he promised that he could get an agreement within the shortest possible time, possibly two to three weeks.
“In carrying out this assignment, the Minister will carry along all relevant ministries & agencies with statutory functions and duties relating to the issues involved,” the tweets read.
“The Presidency is optimistic that agreements can be reached in an even shorter period if all parties/stakeholders are not unrealistically obstinate.
“We appeal to the parties to work together to end the strikes. On the part of the administration, all doors remain open for dialogue and the resolution of the issues,” it stated.
