Amid tight securtiy, workers across all sectors in Edo State in their numbers on Tuesday defied the morning drizzle to support the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) protest against the prolonged closure of public universities across the country.
The two-day nationwide protest, which was prompted by failure of the Federal Government to resolve the persistent issues with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), had employees from various affiliate unions in tertiary institutions, the National Union of Teachers (NUT), health workers, the Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG), National Union of Road Transport Workers (NURTW) among other participants.
The aggrieved labour unions, in a peaceful rally to draw the attention of the government over the manner in which the negotiations between the Federal Government and the academic body had purportedly ended in stalemate, marched round Benin City and submitted a letter to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State.
Displaying placards with inscriptions that read thus “Nigerian masses speak with one voice: fund education, pay decent wages; the poor also deserve quality education; stopping our salaries won’t deter us from fighting for our rights, and our children have been at home for too long”, the protesters urged the Nigerian government to stop playing with the lives of the nation’s future leaders and proffer a lasting solution to the protracted strike.
Addressing protesters, Odion Olaye, acting NLC chairman, Edo State Council, said they are acting on the national body’s directive to the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), that every council of the congress join the protest to call for an end to the strike in public universities as well as support the fight for quality education.
“We are here on a solidarity protest on behalf of the affiliate unions in universities that have been on strike for the past five months. The NLC president called an emergency National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, where the congress took a resolution that they have put so many efforts at the apex to address the issue by writing to the ministers involved but all to no avail. Hence, we decided to go on a solidarity protest with the affiliate unions operating in universities with a view to providing solution,” Olaye said.
Read also: ASUU strike: Labour begins nationwide solidarity protest
On the suspension of union activities across all state-owned institutions of higher learning, he said the governor “is a friend of labour” and the union has written to the state government to
“give us audience to address the issue of the unions that were proscribed by Edo State government. They have assured to give us a date in due course.”
Broderick Osewa, chairman, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), University of Benin chapter, commended the organised labour for the support, urging well-meaning Nigerians to prevail on government to do the needful.
“The government is supposed to take care of its citizens, but what we are seeing is that they are not responding, they are inept and they are adamant from resolving the issue,” Osewa said.
Osaigbovo Iyoha, Chief of Staff to Edo State governor, who received the petition, assured that the letter would be forwarded to the governor for a possible intervention to the lingering disputes between the Federal Government and the striking workers.
“It is a shame that the Federal Government, even though at the state level, we have tried to talk to them for intervention, but today, after five months, our sons and daughters are still at home after our universities pressed for a betterment in their environment.
“It is shameful that only last week that the government found it necessary to say that the minister of labour should stay away from it because it was clear the minister didn’t take the demands very seriously.
“This is serious business now and I want to assure you that the governor will get this letter today and something will be done urgently. I want to assure you that with all of them coming together to solve this issue, this strike will be a thing of the past in the next couple of days,” Iyoha said.
Join BusinessDay whatsapp Channel, to stay up to date
Open In Whatsapp
