The Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, has claimed that he has three children in government-owned universities affected by the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Universities’ (ASUU) strike.
The strike which is in its eighth month has led to the suspension of academic activities in public universities with both parties yet to reach an agreement.
In an interview on Arise TV on Sunday, Ngige refuted the claim that political leaders care less about the strike because their children are in school abroad saying three of his children are in public universities in the country.
“I have three biological children in public schools. They are in public schools; they are not in private universities. Unlike ASUU members who have most of their children in private universities, three of mine are here. So, I am a very big stakeholder in the public tertiary school system,” he said.
“So, when ASUU says politicians don’t care because they have taken their children abroad, Chris Ngige cares because my children are not abroad even though they have dual nationality – two of them have American citizenship; they can be in America but I choose them to be here with me.
“So, ASUU cannot accuse me of not being nationalistic enough. Anything that will help the university system here, I am in the forefront.”
After months of negotiations, the federal government recently shifted its ground regarding enrolling members of ASUU on the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
