ASUU strike: NLC insists on protest, calls bluff on Buhari’s 2-week ultimatum

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and other labour unions have declared the intents to go on with the planned two-day nationwide protests scheduled for July 26 and 27 in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Some 40 unions, including aviation workers, have declared their interest to participate in the rally to solidarise with  ASUU.

ASUU, it could be noted, had shut its facilities for five months, since February 14, following a disagreement with the Federal Government respecting salaries and sundry issues.

The Union had embarked on a one-month warning strike on February 14 to demand for the implementation of the October 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions and National Association of Academic Technologists later joined the industrial action.

It could also be recalled that the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday, declared the protest illegal.

Mr. Mohammed, in declaring it illegal, said that Labour had no pending disputes with the government, hence should stay away from the dispute.

Addressing State House correspondents after the Federal Executive Council meeting on Wednesday, he said:

“The NLC is not a political party. The NLC can go on strike or protest if the rights of the NLC members are involved.

“What the NLC is planning in the next few days is about interest. There’s no dispute whatsoever between NLC as a body with the Federal Government.

“Well, yes, there’s a dispute between some members of the NLC, ASUU and the federal government, which is being looked into. And NLC itself is a party to the committee that is looking into the solution.

“So, calling out people on street protest; you begin to wonder, what is the motive of the NLC in this matter?

“But you see here, we do not interrogate what the NLC is doing. The NLC by its own laws cannot even give out pamphlets.

“And the NLC is supposed to be completely insulated from politics.”

The Congress, however, said that it would go on with the protest, insisting that right to protest is guaranteed by the constitution in solidarity with ASUU.

NLC announced on July 17 that it would kick off a nationwide protest to pressure the federal government to resolve the crisis in the tertiary education sector.

Earlier in the week, President Muhammadu Buhari directed the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to resolve the five-month strike within two weeks and report back to him.

Condemning the ultimatum handed down to the education minister, NLC spokesman said that nothing had happened to change the proposed rally.

He further added, ‘’If the government wants to end this matter today, I assure you that they will be able to fix it in three hours. Remember when the airline operators planned to go on strike and within hours there was an intervention; remember?

“The summary of what I want to tell you is that nothing has happened for us to change our proposed action. All I know is that we’re going on with our action.’’

Responding to allegation that the protest was illegal, Upah averred that the minister should be worried by the damage caused to the education system by the protracted strike.

He noted, “Freedom of expression, freedom of protest are within the ambit of the law and guaranteed by the constitution; so, he (minister) does not have the power to abolish it.

“ASUU is part of the unions that make up the NLC and we all know that for the past six months or so ASUU had had issues with the government; an issue that government has not resolved.’’

Insisting that the union was not partisan, Upah stated, ‘’No political sentiment, we are guided purely by national interest. It should be of conscience to the minister of information that for the past six months our children and wards have been out of school and the collateral damage of that is simply inestimable; it is mind-boggling.”