) Nasarawa State Government says it is working to resolve the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) strike at Nasarawa State University, Keffi (NSUK) to enable students to return to classes.
The Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Dr Labaran Magaji, disclosed this while receiving the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) at his office on Wednesday in Lafia.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that ASUU, NSUK chapter had on Aug. 10 embarked on an indefinite strike over unpaid arrears, including Earned Academic Allowance.
Others are consequential adjustment arising from the implementation of the national minimum wage and the Federal Government-approved salary increment for university lecturers.
Magaji empathised with the students of the state-owned university over the ongoing strike and assured them of the government’s efforts to end the issue with the striking lecturers.
“I can assure you that, as a listening government under the leadership of Gov. Abdullahi Sule, such concerns are going to be resolved sooner than later.
“The governor is not sleeping over it. He is intensifying efforts to see that this issue is resolved, so that students can go back to class,” he said.
The SSG, however, called on Nigerian students to shun materialism and social vices, asking them to remain ideologically consistent.
He decried the loss of genuine “comradeship” among young people, attributing it to activists who abandon the cause once they receive personal favours.
Magaji stressed that true comradeship required ideology, sacrifice and consistency.
The SSG recounted his own struggles in secondary school and university; the experience, he said, shaped his values and informed his decision to give scholarships to indigent students.
“Do not be materialistic; do not be greedy. Once you take these off you, you are automatically a rich person because richness comes with contentment,” he said.
Speaking on politics and governance, he urged students to shun what he called “politics of primordial sentiments” based on tribe, religion, and indigene, saying such divisions destroy societies.
Magaji highlighted infrastructure projects completed in the last three years, including new roads and overhead bridges in Lafia, Keffi and Karu Local Government Areas, the Akwanga underpass and other areas.
The SSG credited infrastructural development to President Bola Tinubu’s economic reforms that brought about increased revenue and Sule’s prudent management of resources.
Earlier, the leader of the delegation, NANS National Treasurer, Ms Asmawu Omeze, said the visit was part of a campus tour and not to agitate, but to verify the impact of government policies on students.
She commended the Magaji for his consistency, integrity and commitment to youth and women development through empowerment.
Omeze also applauded Magaji for giving scholarships to 1000 indigents students, saying feedback from schools and beneficiaries confirmed that the SSG’s interventions had gone a long way in supporting the students.
“We are on a campus tour to check our campuses, their well-being, welfare and everything, and also to pay a special visit to you.
‘’We are visiting because we have heard of your interventions in supporting students; not just because we hear of them, we see those who are beneficiaries,” she said.
She also delivered a solidarity message from the NANS National President, Mr Akinteye Babatunde-Afeez, describing him as “ever ready and prepared” and actively engaging institutions across the country. (NAN)
