The Trade Union Congress (TUC), has urged the Federal Government to accede to the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) by prioritising them.
The Chairman of TUC, Enugu State chapter, Mr Chukwuma Igbokwe, made this appeal while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Enugu on Monday.
Igbokwe urged ASUU to show restraint and accept some of the demands that the Federal Government could cope with in view of the current state of the economy.
He implored ASUU, the Federal Government and other education stakeholders to return to the negotiating table once more; as ‘dialogue is the key to resolve all issues amicably’.
“Government should address these issues by prioritising them, so that there can be a way forward. If you have a problem in addressing all the issues at a time, why not draw a priority list and take it one by one.
“For instance, if we agree that we will do one thing now and do another one in two years time, the lecturers will have it in mind that yes, something will come at a particular time,’’ he said.
According to Igbokwe, government is a continuum, even if a new regime comes, whatever agreement the old regime or regimes had with ASUU would still be honoured by the ruling government.
“Administration may come and go but government is always a continuum,’’ he added. (NAN)