In a manner that suggests a dig at the Buhari government, former President Goodluck Jonathan said that his government resolved a lingering strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in one night during his Presidency.

Jonathan spoke on Wednesday in Abuja during a conference to mark the 70th birthday of the Bishop of Sokoto Diocese, Bishop Hassan Kukah.

“The society we are managing is quite complex. Yes, I was the president and I tried my best. Now, we are talking about ASUU strike. During my time too, ASUU had four months of strike. Different committees were meeting but nothing was working. I said ‘How can our children stay out of school for four good months?” Jonathan said at the event.

“So, I had to call a meeting of all the leadership of ASUU. I presided over the meeting with my vice president. The Attorney General was there. I said that that night we must solve the problem. The Attorney General was there; the Secretary to the Government of the Federation was there; the ministers of education were there; the labour ministers were there; the finance ministers and everybody that had to do with it [strike].

“And I thought that my being there would help us to do things quickly. But we spent the whole night. We finished like 5:30 am and the strike was called off. So, there were issues,” Jonathan said.

Under the President Buhari government, ASUU had been on strike for over six months with no hope of a call off.

The former President who lauded Bishop Kukah for always speaking truth to power, urged the clergy to speak against bad leadership in the country.