Concerned over the lingering industrial action embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and its wide negative implications, Kano State government has begun move to pull the state-owned institutions out of the over six months strike.

Consequently, the state executive council directed the commissioner for Higher Education, Attorney General and commissioner for Justice and the state Head of Service to convey an emergency meeting with leadership of the union in the two state institutions to resolve possible bottlenecks.

Commissioner for Higher Education in Kano, Dr. Mariya Mohmoud Bunkure, who disclosed government determination to end ASUU strike in Kano, said government will deploy necessary mechanism to convince ASUU to return to class.

Bunkure, who reacted on government efforts to address the pains of students and parents as a result of the indefinite strike, told The Guardian that the emergency meeting scheduled to hold within the week would not spare any room to resolve the sit at home of the academic lecturers.

She insisted there is no moral justification for government to continue payment of lecturers salaries and earned allowances in the last six months without carrying out their statutory duty. The commissioner, who was optimistic that the striking lecturers in the state universities would return to class, however noted that the outcome of the meeting would determine government next action.

“We are aware that many state governments have prevailed on the academic staff union of their institutions and we have seen ASUU in those institutions pulling out of the six months strike. In Kano, the council has directed me, the Head of Service and the Attorney General and commissioner for Justice to convey a meeting and dialogue with ASUU in Aliko Dangote and Yusuf Maitama Sule universities with a bid to suspend the strike.

“I can confirm to you that six or seven state owned universities that I know already pull out of the strike, ours should not be any different. Even those, we are going to be on polite and passionate manner so that our children can return to the classroom. There is no justification for lecturers to remain at home while receiving salaries for good six months.

“We would call them and address whatever the issues and then, it is the outcome of the meeting that will inform the next line of action of government. Council has directed us to reconvene the meeting, we will do that and we have the feeling that ASUU will return to class in Kano by the grace of God,” Bunkure noted.