The Benue state governor, Samuel Ortom, Tuesday urged the federal government to honour the agreement reached with Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and end the ongoing five month industrial action embarked upon by the union.
Speaking when he received members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) who staged a nation- wide protest in support of ASUU, Governor Ortom, noted that the strike which has lasted for more than five months was uncalled for and there is need for urgent steps to be taken by the apex government to end it.
Ortom who was represented by the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Tony Ijoho (SAN), commended NLC for embarking on the solidarity protest, which he said will reawaken the federal government to address the issue.
“For over five months, our children have been home and since the federal government is not doing anything about it, Benue state government is fully in support of your action and we as a state will communicate your message from the state to the federal government.
“As far as we are concerned, this strike is uncalled for. If you enter into agreement with somebody, you must honor the agreement, but if there are issues, please discuss it with them.
“We can’t have a situation whereby we lock up our universities for up to six months now, this is unacceptable.”
to ensure better service delivery.