President Muhammadu Buhari has ordered the Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, to ensure that the ongoing strike action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) comes to an end today.

A statement by the Assistant Director, Press at the ministry, Rhoda Illiya, said the president told the minister that the strike must be called off at the end of the meeting on Monday night.

The Minister who spoke at the resume negotiation meeting between the government and the union said the President was concerned about the continued stay at home of Nigerian students and has directed that the strike be brought to an immediate end so that students can return to school.

“The President has directed me to pass the night here until all issues that have kept our children away from school are resolved and strike called off. He has also directed me to impress upon you, the imperative of little sacrifice from all sides, knowing full well that the revenue of the federation has dwindled from what it was before the present administration assumed office”, he said.

The Minister added that President Buhari was greatly worried about the situation in the university system, hence, his steady and holistic approach to tackling the rot through adequate funding, notwithstanding the dwindling revenue accruals.

“The President told me to assure you of his determination to reposition our universities as he would do everything possible to cast the present challenges in our tertiary education to the dustbin of history,” Ngige added.

The meeting between the government and the union which started at about 5.00pm was still in progress as of press time.