Nigeria is broke, call off the strike, Emir tells ASUP president

Emir of Gwandu and Chairman, Kebbi State Traditional Council Of Chiefs, Eliyasu Bashar has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) to call off their seven weeks strike, as the country is broke.

He made this appeal yesterday when he received members of the union in his Palace, adding that the strike cannot solve the problem but should rather dialogue with the Federal Government, assuring them that he will involve all the relevant stakeholders for dialogue. He said the country can no longer depend on crude oil and should diversify the economy in order to meet up the people’s demands.

Responding, ASUP National President, Anderson Ezeibe said that in 2017/18, there was an agreement between ASUP and the Federal Government but the latter refused to uphold it, forcing them to embark on strike. He also advised states owning their staff to pay up. He assured the Emir that they would go back to the drawing board and make their final decision while promising that very soon, the strike will be over.