Nwajiuba said this during the briefing of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 on Monday in Abuja.

The minister, however, expressed optimism that the date for resumption was around the corner, adding, that  “we are not going to be brandishing dates.”

He disclosed that he and the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, met some stakeholders in tertiary education earlier in the day on the issue.

Nwajiuba said about 78 privately-owned universities were insisting that they were ready for resumption while the response from government-owned universities was still “50-50.”

He said that after aggregating opinions, he would return to the PTF to review the situation and then go ahead to make a pronouncement.

The minister urged students of tertiary institutions protesting the continued closure of their schools to be a little more patient with the government.(NAN)