…Asks FG to dialogue with unions

From: AIDOGHIE PAULINUS, Abuja

As Christians celebrate the nativity of Jesus Christ, the National President of the University of Port Harcourt (UNIPORT) Alumni Association, Chief Chris Adokeme, has called on Nigerians to pray for students in the country.

Adokeme also said it was important for Nigerians to imbibe the positive attributes of prayer which Jesus Christ propagated, lived and died for.

Adokeme made the call in his Christmas message made available to Daily Sun in Abuja, saying that students of Nigerian tertiary institutions were faced with the greatest challenges since independence.

He added that poor funding of Nigerian universities, incessant strike actions by various unions and the brain-drain syndrome occasioned by lecturers seeking greener pastures abroad, has led to the declining quality of graduates from the nation’s institutions of higher learning.

Related News

While commending the Federal Government for being supportive to the education sector, he added that the nation needed to do more in order to reposition the education sector in the country.

He enjoined Nigerians to pray ceaselessly for the education, security, peace and unity of the country, pointing out that the nation was going through very difficult times that required the collective prayers of all and sundry.

He also called on the Federal Government to urgently dialogue with the non academic unions in other to return Nigerian universities to normalcy as soon as possible.

“Once again, Nigerian students are under siege as they have been forced to operate at minimum capacity due to another strike action,” Adokeme said.

Adokeme urged fellow alumni of UNIPORT to join hands with the association and the university to develop the school since the government cannot do it alone.