…threatens mass solidarity action
By Obasola Olatunde
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has vehemently warned the Federal Government (FG) against resorting to intimidation tactics, particularly invoking the “No Work, No Pay” policy, against striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The NLC declared that such measures will fail to resolve the deep-rooted crises plaguing the nation’s public university system.
In a statement issued on Sunday, NLC President, Comrade Joe Ajaero, stated that ASUU’s two-week warning strike is a legitimate response to the government’s consistent failure to honour agreements it voluntarily signed with the union.
Ajaero expressed the NLC’s deep concern over the chronic underfunding of public education and the government’s refusal to implement collectively bargained agreements.
He stressed that the strike is not an act of defiance but a necessary reaction to years of neglect and broken promises.
Faulting the government’s threat to withhold salaries, the NLC President insisted that the breach of contract lies with the state, not the lecturers.
“Lecturers are willing to work, but government’s consistent failure to meet its obligations has made it impossible for them to do so with dignity,” Ajaero asserted.
He reaffirmed the union’s stance: “The principle remains clear: No Pay, No Work.”
Ajaero strongly accused the government of deliberately weakening public universities while the children of the elite are simultaneously enrolled in private and foreign institutions, a practice he claims deepens societal inequality.
He stressed that quality education must be a right for all, not a privilege for a few.
The NLC declared its total solidarity with ASUU and all other university-based unions. The congress urged the government to use the ongoing two-week strike period as a window of opportunity to present a concrete plan for implementing all outstanding agreements.
The warning carried a clear threat: if the government fails to act immediately following the warning strike, the NLC will convene an emergency meeting with its affiliates in the education sector to determine a broader industrial action.
“The struggle of ASUU is the struggle of the Nigerian working class. The fight for public education is a fight for Nigeria’s future. The NLC will no longer allow these unions to stand alone,” Ajaero declared.
He concluded with a stark ultimatum: “The choice is clear honour the agreements and salvage public education, or face the unified force of the entire Nigerian workforce.”