By AbdulRaheem, Kaduna
Ahmadu Bello University Alumni Association has started engaging members of the Ahmadu Bello University branch of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on how to end the prolonged strike action, national president of the association, Alhaji Ibrahim Sani Khalil, has said.
Addressing a press conference in Kaduna on Saturday ahead of the 15th Alumni Annual General Meeting (AGM) slated for next week, Alhaji Khalil said members of the Alumni were disturbed over the lingering crisis between ASUU, the Federal Government and the university, saying, it’s not in their interest.
The ABU Alumni Association President lamented that the seven months’ ASUU strike had impeded the running of the universities in the country including ABU, noting that, “we are not happy with that. Our children have stayed at home for a long time. I think they have to go back. On our part, as stakeholders, we are not happy. We have started to engage the ASUU branch in peace talks. We have reached an appreciable understanding with them. They have seen reason.
“Notwithstanding, Ahmadu Bello University has been in the forefront of human capital development in this country, by and large the university has continued to produce outstanding graduates that are excelling not only in Nigeria but the world over and we will continue to strive hard to maintain the standard.”
On the annual conference, he said “the AGM will look at what we were able to do within the last one and half year since we came on board. There will be a lecture to be delivered by the Tetfund boss on the funding of the tertiary institutions in the country.
“We carefully decided to chose the theme in view of the current crisis in the tertiary institutions. We believe both stakeholders will benefit from the lecture,” he declared.
According to the National President, since they came on board they have opened additional 20 branches, adding that now they have branches in all the 36 states of the country including Abuja and Zaria branch.
