#Day59 ASUU strike: There is no need for the lecturers to continue – President Jonathan

So it’s the 59th day and here’s the latest update! President Goodluck Jonathan on Tuesday said there was no need for the Academic Staff Union of Universities to continue with their industrial action. Mr. Jonathan said this at the inauguration of the Federal Government sponsored-Transformation Projects at the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO). Represented by Ruqayyat Rufai, the Minister of Education, the president saidN30 billion had been released for the payment of earned allowances in all public universities. The president said that the inaugurated projects were in line with the Federal Government’s commitment to providing quality education in the country. He said the projects were based on the need assessment exercise conducted by the Federal Government in universities. University lecturers have been on a nationwide strike for over 8 weeks withthe lecturers demanding a full implementation of a 2009 agreement it had with the federal government. While the government says it has provided N30 billion for earned allowances of lecturers, the lecturers said about N92 billion is required to completely offset the earned allowances of the concernedlecturers. That and other demands are the reasons the lecturers have continued with their strike