Vice chancellor, Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, Prof. Edward Olanipekun has said constant dialogue between university union leaders and Federal Government will end incessant strikes by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Olanipekun also disclosed that a total of 278 out of 16,433 graduands would be conferred with first class honours at the university’s combined 25th and 26th convocation ceremonies.
Addressing a pre-convocation press conference heralding the university’s 40th anniversary and 25th and 26th convocation ceremonies in EKSU on Wednesday, the VC said the country cannot afford to shut down its ivory towers while still recovering from the effects of the Covid 19 lockdown.
“We are still engaging the ASUU at our own level but Nigerians should appeal to ASUU and the Federal Government to embrace dialogue.
To avert these incessant strikes, the government must continue to engage the union. With constant dialogue between the two parties the disagreement will be over.
“It is better to jaw-jaw than to war-war. The union knows the situation in the country, but this goes beyond local chapters of ASUU, when the national body gave a directive”.
He said the APC national leader, Chief Bisi Akande, CBN governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele, legal luminaries, Chief Wole Olanipekun and Mr Femi Falana among others would be conferred with honorary degrees and award of recognition.
The professor of industrial chemistry added that an aggregate of 263, 7,023, 8,561, 174, 252, and 160 graduates would be bestowed with diplomas, bachelor , postgraduate diploma , Master and doctor of Philosophy degrees respectively, at the event slated for March 26,2022.