NLC protests in Ondo over ASUU strike

By Akintunde Jacobs, Akure

Members of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) in Ondo state have staged a protest in Akure in solidarity with the strike action of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

The protesting labour movement joined the affiliated unions, ASUU, NAAT, SSANU, COEASU and NASU, to protest the lingering ASUU strike.

They held banners and placards with several inscriptions such as, “Enough Is Enough, “End ASUU strike now, “Don’t turn our children to criminals, “Our right must be respected,” among others.

The nationwide protest was organised by the NLC in solidarity with ASUU over the strike that clocked five months on July 14, 2022.

Recall that the Nigeria Labour Congress had last week directed workers in state capitals and Abuja to join the protest.

The NLC chairman in Ondo state, Sunday Adeleye, alongside with others labour leaders who led the protest lamented the lingering ASUU strike which they noted had crippled tertiary education in Nigeria.

According to Adeleye, NLC would not relent in advocating good governance which would secure the future of Nigerians especially, workers and students.

They, however, called on the federal government to yield to the demands of the university lecturers so that students could return to their classrooms.

“Our right must be respected. Our children must go back to school, we are tired of having them staying with us at home. Our children is our future, our tertiary institutions are suffering and we are ready to shutdown the whole sectors of the country until they listen to us,” they said.

Governor Oluwarotimi Akeredolu, while addressing the protesters, said their agitations shall be taking to the President saying “nobody is happy with how the country is being run at the moment.”

Akeredolu, who spoke through the Head of Service, John Adeyemo said, “the way our federal system is being run needs to be readdressed.

“We must allow the system to run properly, federal government must come back to the negotiation table and resolve this ASUU strike.”