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NLC-ASUU protest in Lagos on Tuesday Photo: NAN
Photo: NAN
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has warned the Federal Government of imminent shut down of the country if it does not address the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other university unions who have been on strike.
The NLC sounded the warning as it held nationwide protests amid the prolonged strike by university workers.
The protest which is expected to take place in all 36 states of the Federation will see the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) joining on Wednesday.
So far, the protest was successful in Lagos, Ebonyi and other states monitored.
University workers, including members of ASUU, Senior Staff Association of Universities (SSANU), and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), among others, had gone on strike for various reasons bordering on welfare and conditions of service.
Part of the reasons for the strike was the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) of the government as the payment system in the university sector. IPPIS has been fraught with fraud.
Several meeting between the university personnel and the government had hit a dead end, with the Federal Government showing percentage commitment to resolve the impasse.
In Ebonyi, the NLC says it will not stop talking until the federal and state government fulfilled the 2009 promises for the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The protesters, who carried different inscriptions, matched from popular the Pastoral Centre, Abakaliki to Pa Ngele Oruta township stadium.
Mr Ikechukwu Nwafor, NLC Chairman in Ebonyi said the congress joined the nationwide protest in solidarity with ASUU strike, urging the federal and state government to expedite action to bring their children back to school.
Mr Ben Ukpepi, Chairman of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Cross River Council, also on Tuesday disclosed that the union would embark on a total strike if the Federal Government failed to resolve the lingering issues with ASUU.
Ukpepi said this during the NLC National Mega Rally in support of the unions in the nation’s tertiary institutions in Calabar.
The chairman said the strike would be necessary to compel the Federal Government in ensuring that the Nigerian students returned to the classrooms.
“If the Federal Government refuses to resolve this issue as soon as possible, we will not hesitate to call all the workers and embark on a total strike to ensure that we compel the government to do the needful.
“What ASUU is doing is the right thing; I thank them for their resilience because if other unions can do what they have done so far, the Federal Government will sit up,” he said.
Similarly, Dr. John Edor, Chairman of ASUU, University of Calabar Chapter, said it was inexplicable that the entire tertiary education system was shut down from Feb. 14 till July 26 and the government had done nothing.
