House to Wade into ASUU Strike, Says Lawmaker 

*As parliamentary correspondents task N’Assembly on passage of audit bill, others

Udora Orizu in Abuja 

The Chairman House of Representatives Committee on Legislative Agenda, Hon. Henry Nwawuba at the weekend assured that he, and his colleagues on resumption of plenary next week, would discuss on how to address the lingering strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Speaking as a resource person at a two-day Capacity Building Workshop on the theme: ‘Deepening legislative knowledge through critical reporting’, Nwawuba while describing the lingering strike as ridiculous, said that the House would not fold its arm and allow the situation to degenerate beyond redemption.

According to him, the move to wade into the issue was in line with the priority placed on education by the legislative agenda of the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila led House of Representatives.

He said: “If anybody told me we would be in the situation we are today with ASUU strike, just the same way we didn’t see COVID-19 coming and even the insecurity that we have in Nigeria today, it’s difficult to believe it. We are aware that we are stretched as a committee, we are stretched as Nigerians we are forced to react everyday to dynamism and I know that once we come back from recess definitely you are going to be hearing from the House of Representatives on this subject matter of ASUU.

“Because it has become ridiculous and if left unchecked people are beginning to feel we are going to leave it to the next government to sort out but it would affect our students especially our final year students who have a few months left to go and they have been at home now for the past nine months.”

Meanwhile, parliamentary correspondents covering the activities of the House of Representatives at the workshop tasked the leadership of the National Assembly on the need to accelerate the passage of the Audit Bill, 2022, Budget bill, 2022, among others.

The Journalists gave the charge via a Communique issued, at the end of the two-day workshop jointly signed by  Chairman, Communique Drafting Committee, Kehinde Akintola, Udora Orizu (Secretary), Hajia Lami Ali, Ndubisi Orji and James Kwen.

The participants applauded the efforts of the Speaker, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila and other lawmakers towards the passage of the critical bills such as Petroleum Industry bill and electoral bill (now Acts of Parliament).

Other recommendations include, “Participants urged on the 9th House of Representatives on the need to sustain the passage of outstanding critical bills, such as Audit and Budget bills as well as other legislations that will improve the security of lives and property, power sector, health, education and other socio-economic well-being of the citizens as encapsulated in the Legislative Agenda of the 9th House of Representatives, which is currently about 60 per cent achieved. Participants underscored the need to put a legislative mechanism in place to ensure implementation of relevant laws passed by successive Assemblies by strengthening the House Committee on Legislative Compliance.”