Education Minister Adamu Adamu yesterday expressed shock over the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to go on strike.

He said the contentious issues between the Federal Government were being sorted out.

Adamu said this while responding to questions from State House Correspondents after the week’s virtual Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting at the Presidential Villa in Abuja.

The minister said a committee set up to resolve the disagreement between both sides had submitted its report to the ministry, adding that the report was receiving necessary attention.

He stressed that if after so many negotiations and attempts at resolving the disagreements, the union still could not agree on a truce, the fault was no longer with the government.

“ASUU, unfortunately, has gone on strike and I am looking for them because all the issues are being addressed.

“The last thing that happened was that our committee looked at their demands, but there are renegotiations going on. They submitted a draft agreement which the ministry is looking at,” Adamu said.

The minister said ASUU’s strike happened abruptly amidst ongoing negotiations.

Speaking of ASUU’s draft agreement, the minister said: “A committee is looking at it. Immediately it finishes, the government is meant to announce what it has accepted. Then suddenly, I heard them going on strike.”

On allegations by ASUU about his absence from meetings, he said: “ASUU will never say that. I always call the meetings myself. The meetings I didn’t attend were those that happened when I was in hospital in Germany.

“We want a peaceful resolution. The Federal Government is ready to meet them on all issues they have raised. If there are so many meetings and the gap is not closing, then I think it’s not the fault of the government.