Speaking during a programme that aired on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA) on Saturday, Nwajiuba said the federal government is also working to end the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) before schools reopen.

Tertiary institutions in the country have been shut since March after the government ordered their closure to slow the speed of the coronavirus.

Nwajiuba said while private universities have requested to be allowed to reopen, vice-chancellors want those in exit classes to resume in earnest.

“Tertiary institutions across the country will open very soon,” he said, adding that “Private universities have written us, requesting that they are allowed to reopen ahead of public institutions. Vice-chancellors have also requested that we allow them to reopen for their students in exit classes.

“We have also a lot of calls from bodies who want us to resolve the industrial action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities before reopening because some public schools which are not ASUU-prone want to take the advantage of the strike to move ahead, but that would destroy our public schools. So, we are working on all these calls.”

The minister said the National Universities Commission (NUC) would have to do an appraisal of the state of tertiary institutions ahead of the reopening.

“We are waiting for the same from other tertiary institutions bodies so I can situate them and present the PTF on COVID-19,” he said.

“I can’t give the NUC a deadline on this because our job at the ministry is to wait for their inputs. This is not a political decision alone. If you open the university system, you have opened the country.”

Nwajiuba urged ASUU to call off their strike because their grievances “have more or less been resolved”.

“The body is making efforts to situate the visitation panel, though, that has to be gazetted and we are on it,” he said.

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“President Jonathan and his promoters through the misguided elements in Transformation Ambassadors of Nigeria (TAN) have once again demonstrated their hatred and lack of understanding of the plight of Nigerians, particularly those in Rivers State, by going ahead to organise their senseless rally in Port Harcourt even after being alerted of the outbreak of the Ebola Virus Disease in the State by the Minister of Health and other relevant bodies,” the party said in a statement.

The statement signed by the State Chairman, Dr. Davies Ikanya, “With this TAN Rally in Port Harcourt, President Goodluck Jonathan and his cohorts have only succeeded in exposing their deep-rooted hatred for the good people of Rivers State, fully aware of the implication of organising such a senseless rally at this period that we are still
studying how wicked agents secretly exported Ebola to Rivers State just to endanger the lives of Rivers people.

“This was after Nigerians had been warned to desist from organising large gatherings. This is the height of insensitivity which will surely spell electoral doom for President Jonathan and his Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015 and beyond.”

Rivers APC commended discerning sons of Rivers such as Dr. Abiye Sekibo, Chief Uche Secondus, Chief (Dr.) Doris Fisher and Brother Felix Obuah who, despite being PDP chieftains, refused to attend the rally promoted by Nyesom Wike, the Minister of State for Education and PDP Leader in Rivers State.

The party said it had taken note of Wike’s courageous declaration during the rally that President Jonathan has not done anything meaningful for Rivers State and her people apart from approving a school on Oil and Gas which is still on the drawing board.

“We would however have expected Chief Wike to tell the world that Rivers and her people will never vote for PDP, seeing the injustice and wickedness the State has suffered under the PDP-led Federal Government since President
Jonathan assumed office,” Rivers APC said.

The party added that “One thing going for us in River State is that we have a President Goodluck Jonathan of the PDP whose hatred for our State and her people is legendary not minding that he is from our sister State Bayelsa
and our in-law and we gave him the highest number of votes that made him the President.

“Our campaign strategy will be centered on this hatred, which has manifested in the hounding of Governor Chibuike Amaechi, the ceding of our oil wells to Bayelsa and Abia states, refusal to direct Akwa Ibom to pay us the proceeds of our oil wells she kept for many years, wicked refusal to implement the UNEP Report on Ogoni and now the deliberate act to worsen the Ebola crisis in the state by allowing a rally in his honour against wise counsel by those who truly care about the health and well-being of Rivers people.

“Mr. President has left no one in doubt of his deep hatred for Rivers State and her people, so how can we support him or any PDP candidate in 2015?

“In any case, the feats of the Amaechi administration are enough to give us victory in future elections. These feats, which are well known, include making Port Harcourt the World Book Capital City, eradication of militancy,
dogged fight for the oil wells and other rights of Rivers State and her people, as well as award-winning achievements in Education, Agriculture, Health, etc.”

Dr. Ikanya said that, in addition to all these, “we will ask the good people of Rivers State to make their choice between the characters and vision of those in PDP (insecurity, ungodliness, etc) and the vision and characters of those in APC (godliness, security and concern for the future of our state). These are the issues for Rivers State to use to decide which of the parties governs the State from 2015.”

Ikanya advised APC faithful in the State not to panic or fear about the future of the party, as “Rivers people have since adopted APC as the party of their choice and there is nothing the doomed PDP or any other party can
do about that.”

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