Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige has declared that he is a “big stakeholder” in the lingering crisis in the public tertiary education system, because he has three children in public universities in Nigeria.

While restating the commitment of Federal Government to end the eight-month strike embarked on by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, he stressed that it is untrue that government officials have been foot-draggers in the ongoing negotiations with the university lecturers because their children school abroad.

Speaking on Arise TV on Monday, said: “I have three biological children in public schools. They are in public schools; they are not in private universities. Unlike ASUU members who have most of their children in private universities, three of mine are here. So, I am a very big stakeholder in the public tertiary school system.”

“So, when ASUU says politicians don’t care because they have taken their children abroad, Chris Ngige cares because my children are not abroad even though they have dual nationality – two of them have American citizenship; they can be in America but I choose them to be here with me.

“So, ASUU cannot accuse me of not being nationalistic enough. Anything that will help the university system here, I am in the forefront.”

Thelagostimes reports that public universities have been shut for about eight months due to the strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).