As Nigeria marks its 62nd Independence anniversary, President Muhammadu Buhari has again urged striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU to call off their over seven months old strike and return to the classroom, promising to deal with their contending issues within the limits of available scarce resources.
The President said this on Saturday in his nationwide Independence Day broadcast to the nation. He says he his worried by the recurring disruption of the tertiary education system which he said his government has made appreciable progress in dealing with the issues that have lingered for over 11 years.
“I must confess that I am very pained by the recurring disruption to our tertiary education system and I am using this Independence Day celebration to re-iterate my call for the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU to return to the classroom while assuring them to deal with their contending issues within the limits of the scarce resources available.
This administration has made appreciable progress in redressing these issues that have been lingering for over eleven years” “The Federal Government will continue to mobilize resources both internationally and nationally towards funding education to ensure that our citizens are well educated and skilled in various vocations in view of the fact that education is a leading determinant of economic growth and employment generation” He explained that his government has also made appreciable progress in improving the Economy, Tackling Corruption and Fighting Insecurity since taking over in 2015.
He added that his administration has strengthened Institutions for tackling corruption and also cultivated international support, which aided the repatriation of huge sums of money illegally kept outside the country. On the issue of security, the President said his government has worked effectively in reducing insurgency in the North-East, militancy in the Niger-Delta, ethnic and religious tensions in some sections of Nigeria along with other problems threatening the country. He noted that Nigeria security forces are working tirelessly in addressing the issue of kidnappings, molestations and killings of innocent citizens, and banditry.
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On the economic situation in the country, President Buhari says current challenges such as debt burden, growing inflation, living standards and increasing unemployment accentuated by growing youthful population are globally induced and promised that government would continue to address their negative impact through various policies.
He says the effective implementation of the Treasury Single Account policy, cutting down on the cost of governance by his government facilitated Nigeria’s early exits from two separate recessions. The President noted that the recent Monetary Policy Committee decision to maintain all parameters, especially interest rates and marginally increase the Monetary Policy Rate, MPR from 14% to 15.5% and the Cash Reserve Ratio, CRR from 27.5% to 32.5% would further insulate the economy from over exposure to uncertainties at the international market by restraining growth in core inflation.
He says his administration’s desired priority to the Agricultural Sector through series of incentives to Micro, Small and Medium Scale Enterprises has created millions of jobs. The Nigerian leader said the Central Bank of Nigeria’s intervention in a number of areas as well as the Anchor Borrowers Programme has created the required leverages for Nigerians towards self-sufficiency in food and the necessary attraction for farming as a business. The President however promised sustained efforts in his administration’s infrastructure drive.
(Editor: Terverr Tyav)
