Date: 2020-11-10

The federal government claimed during the weekend that more positive steps have been taken to resolve the lingering crisis between the government and the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

This was disclosed by the Minister of Information, Mr. Lai Mohammed, in Ilorin, Kwara State's capital, during a town hall meeting to intimate the stakeholders in the state of the federal government's efforts to address the issues raised by the #EndSARS protest in the country.

Mohammed said: "the federal government is committed to the peaceful resolution of the crisis so as to allow our children to return to classes for their academic excellence.

"The Minister of Labour and Productivity, Dr. Chris Ngige and the Minister of Education, Mr. Adamu Adamu have been working tirelessly with the leadership of the ASUU to put an end to the faceoff.

"And I know that the negotiation will yield positive results and our students would resume academic lectures so as to move the education forward in the country."

Mohammed, who was bombarded with question on the state of economy, insecurity, youths unemployment, closure of country's borders and road transportation problem among others, appealed to Nigerians to bear with the President Muhammadu Buhari's administration in the face of daunting socio-economic challenges the country is facing.

He reminded his audience that the nation was just recovering from the ugly effects of the COVID-19 pandemic disease and the #EndSARS protests in many parts of the country and assured them that the federal government is committed to educational, economic, security and youth development, among other areas of growth.

He also said that the border closure was meant to find solutions to the nation's nagging security issues, health, promotion of local industrial growth and economic development.

Also speaking during the town hall meeting was the Kwara State Governor, Mr. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, who lauded the federal constituency policies put in place to address the issues that were brought to the fore by the recent #EndSARS protest in the country.

AbdulRazaq said that the federal government's directive to the ministers and special advisers of the President to visit their various states would assist the government to collect the views of the people on the way to move the country forward.

He, therefore, said that the state government has put in place some policies that would ameliorate the sufferings of those affected by the looting that took place in the state.

The stakeholders that attended the town hall meeting include the royal fathers who were led by the Emir of Ilorin, Alhaji Rahim Sulu-Gambari, students, market women, civil societies, transporters, members of political parties and members of the Academic Staff Union of University of Ilorin, which were led by the Chairman of ASUU, Prof. Salihu Moyosore Ajao.