The Presidency on Wednesday said at no time was the Minister of Education Adamu Adamu handed any ultimatum by President Muhammadu Buhari to end the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
A statement by presidential aide Garba Shehu on Wednesday said though there was a meeting over the strike, the issue of ultimatum was never discussed.
“The outcome of the meeting held by President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday with relevant Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) to end the agitations by university unions ought to be beyond spin-doctoring and conjectures. It is a pity that almost all media houses allowed themselves to be deceived by interested sources that are not the authorized spokesmen of government,” the statement said
It said Neither during nor after the meeting was any ultimatum given to the Minister of Education.
It added “During the meeting, the Minister of Education requested that the Minister of Labour hands off the negotiation to allow him lead and conclude what he had earlier on started with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). “And he promised that he could get an agreement within the shortest possible time, possibly two to three weeks.”
The statement noted that in carrying out the assignment, the Minister will carry along all relevant ministries and agencies with statutory functions and duties relating to the issues involved.
“The Presidency is optimistic that agreements can be reached in an even shorter period if all parties/stakeholders are not unrealistically obstinate. We appeal to the parties to work together to end the strikes.
“On the part of the administration, all doors remain open for dialogue and the resolution of the issues,” the presidency stated
It appealed to the media not try to spread misinformation.
It said, “The orchestrated media narratives seeking to present an entirely different picture, attributed to sources, in the last 24 hours are not helpful at all.”