Senate President, David Mark, on Thursday urged both the Federal Government and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to respect the agreement reached by the two parties.
Mark said this when the ASUU President, Dr Nasir Fagge and his predecessors Dr Dipo Fashina and Dr Abdullahi Sule-Kano, visited him in Abuja.
In a statement in Abuja by the Chief Press Secretary to the Senate President, Mr Paul Mumeh, Mark said respecting the agreement was necessary to avoid a repeat of the unfortunate six- month industrial action by the university lecturers.
Mark urged them to do all that is required to return education to its former glory.
He said that education remained the bedrock of the nation and should not be compromised.
Mark also advised that the N200 billion lodged at the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) for the purpose of addressing the ills in the universities should be used judiciously.
“Education is the foundation of any development. No nation toys with the education of its citizens.
“We must make our education strong and functional. We must strive to lay a solid foundation for our future,” he said.
Mark also offered his condolences to ASUU on the death of its former President, Prof. Festus Iyayi.
Earlier, Fagge thanked the Senate for the mediation that led to the end of the strike.
The ASUU President expressed regret over the prolonged strike on account of the initial reluctance of the government to implement the 2009 agreement.
“I can now confirm that the agreement has been signed between ASUU and the Federal Government.
“The N200 billion for the Education Fund has also been credited into an account at the CBN.
“We have also constituted an implementation monitoring committee on the agreement to avoid any breach,” Fagge said.
