Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State has said that the trillions of Naira expended on purchasing nose masks to prevent the spread of COVID-19 by the federal government, was enough to resolve the strike action embarked upon by university lecturers in the country, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).Â
He recalled how he rejected the existence of the virus, but was ignored and called names.
Speaking on Sunrise Daily, a Channels Television morning program, the governor also lambasted the Minister of Education, Malam Adamu Adamu, and his Labour and Productivity counterpart, Chris Ngige, for not doing enough to end the strike action.
According to the governor, “the trillions the federal government spent on buying nose masks during the COVID-19 outbreak would have solved this ASUU problem, because I believe there was no Coronavirus.”
He said both ministers are not doing enough to end the stand-off between the federal government and the lecturers, even as he accused them of playing politics with the issue.
“Those given the responsibility by the government to resolve the strike action have not shown enough commitment. I don’t think they are representing the president well.
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“Those who the president entrusted to handle the ASUU strike, are not doing justice to the assignment given to them. I do not expect the representatives of the federal government to be making reckless statements that seem to anger the striking lecturers.
“The minister, Adamu Adamu, should have been more serious than making statements that are not sensitive. The president should do the needful on those he has given the responsibilities to resolve the impasse. The ministers and the ASUU representatives are not bigger than Nigerian youths.
“Nigeria’s future is being toyed with, the consequences of this strike are grievous, it is more than the insecurity and the economy that we are fighting today. It is most unfortunate that we find ourselves in this situation. The earlier we stop playing with the future of this country, the better for us.
“Nigeria’s elite and those in government are toying with the future of young people. If we are serious, the ASUU problem will end without further ado,” he said.