ASUU Strike Will Soon Be Called- Off - Okojie -

ASUU strike ‘ll soon be called off, says
Okojie
Prof. Julius Okojie, Executive Secretary of
the National Universities Commission (NUC)
says he is confident that the protracted
strike by the Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU) will soon be called off.
Okojie, who spoke on Wednesday in Abuja
at a media parley with journalists, said the
commission was doing everything within its
powers to ensure a speedy resolution of
the issues raised by ASUU so that students
could return school.
“We are part of the system and we
understand the issues, we are meeting with
members of the union all the time and the
issues are being tackled.
“So, we are optimistic the strike will soon
be called off and our children can go back
to school in the shortest possible time.’’
He also reacted to the call by ASUU for NUC
to be scrapped, saying “the call is not in
good faith as the commission has not gone
to sleep over its duties”.
Also speaking on the recurrent
disagreements between the commission
and some professional bodies over
accreditation and running of certain
courses by some universities,
Okojie acknowledged that there were issues
that needed to be resolved between both
parties.
“There is no country in the world where
regulatory bodies and professional bodies
go to regulate at the same time.
“So, it is true we are having problems with
professional bodies in carrying out our
mandate, but the issues too will soon be
resolved and we can move on.
The executive secretary, who said that the
commission had closed many faculties not
fit to run courses in certain universities,
admitted that; “it is not easy to be a
regulator’’.
According to him, the commission was
“silently regulating the system’’ having to
also pay professional fees and encourage
professors to do accreditation. (NAN).