Abeokuta — Ogun State Elders Consultative Forum has waded into the current strike by the primary school teachers in the State, urging them to return to the classrooms.

The Forum specifically mandated its Peace Building and Conflict Resolutions committee to meet with the leadership of State NUT and other stakeholders with a view to resolving the matter.

Speaking at a special plenary session to mark the fourth anniversary of the forum, in Abeokuta, weekend, the forum's Chairman, Prince Bola Ajibola, described education as the bedrock of the state, pointing out that "a lot has been done in the last few years to upgrade the standard and nothing should be allowed to change our leading position".

Ajibola who affirmed that the Forum since inauguration four years ago, had contributed meaningfully to the process of governance and peaceful co-existence in the state, thanked Governor Gbenga Daniel "for his wisdom in acknowledging the role of elders towards moving the state forward".

According to him, "Otunba Daniel by inaugurating this Elders Consultative Forum has demonstrated that no man has monopoly of wisdom and has acknowledged that the state is blessed with men and women of impeccable pedigree who can contribute to governance. This is our own version of the British House of Lords"

He thanked the various standing committees of the forum including statute and legal matters, state economy and development, peace building and conflict resolutions, education, health, social welfare, security as well as community initiatives and poverty alleviation, for their positive contributions towards achieving a progressive state.