By Saheed Ibrahim

|

The Academic Staff Union of Universities has urged Nigeria’s President-elect, Bola Tinubu, to prioritise education and treat academics in the country with “utmost respect.”

Tinubu, during the campaign leading to the February 25 presidential election, had severally promised that he would give education a priority.

He pledged that there would no longer be strikes in the university, saying “a four-year court will be completed in four years.”

The Chairman of ASUU, Federal University of Technology, Minna, who is also a member of the National Executive Council of ASUU, Prof Gbolahan Bolarin, urged the incoming government not to emulate the regime of President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said, “The first thing that one would expect from the next President is that university education must be a priority. No one should treat the university education system with disdain that would make our students stay at home for eight months because of government failure.

Meanwhile, the outgoing Rector of the Federal Polytechnic, Ile Oluji, Ondo State, Prof. Emmanuel Fasakin, has urged the government not to allow polytechnic education to die from neglect.

He said, “Polytechnic education is needed to provide manpower for our industries. Nigeria should not rely on manpower from outside the country for its industries to survive

“Nigerian government should provide a conducive and enabling environment for Nigerian citizens to work and thrive in their respective academic endeavours.”