The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, is organizing a two-day march in support of the lecturers’ ongoing strike, and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, is organizing members nationwide for it.
The National President of ASUU, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, revealed this in a conversation with Sunday Vanguard over the weekend and stated that ASUU, as an affiliate of the NLC, would mobilize its members for the two-day rally planned for next Tuesday and Wednesday.
“We are in full support of the step that the NLC wants to take by organising a solidarity rally in support of our struggle.
We are not agitating for ourselves but for improvement in the education sector generally. As an affiliate of the Congress, we are going to be part of the event and we will mobilise our members for it too.
“We keep saying it that the struggle should not be left for ASUU alone. Every right thinking citizen of this country should be part of it. Education is an important sector that should not left to the whims and caprices of those not bothered about what happens to it. A nation cannot develop more than its level of education.
We hope the government would wake up to the reality of the time and accord the sector the needed attention and priority,” he said.
Remember that ASUU has been on strike since February 14 of this year in protest of several government demands.
In order to revise the 2009 agreement agreed by the union and the FG, the federal government eventually established the Prof. Nimi Briggs-led committee.
The government claims that it is unable to make the financial commitments necessary to carry out several provisions of the agreement, but ASUU claims that the government is failing to give education enough importance.
But for a variety of reasons, the administration has abandoned the Briggs Committee’s report.
In the meantime, the NLC has come under fire from the FG for choosing to side with ASUU in their dispute.
Alhaji Lai Mohammed, the minister of information and culture, stated that the government had no issues with the NLC and had no justification to back ASUU in any way.
“I think we should also start to interrogate what labour is doing. The NLC is not a political party. The NLC can go on strike or protest if the rights of NLC members are involved. What the NLC is planning in the next two days is about interest,” he said.The Minister said the Congress should insulate itself against politics.
The nation’s airports may be shut down since aviation workers also intend to participate in the rally.
Hadi Sirika, the aviation minister, made a similar request to the rally’s attendees as did Mohammed.
