From Teryima Ajijah, Jos
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has maintained that they are protesting, in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), in order to rescue the education sector from total collapse.
Plateau State Chairman of the NLC, Comrade Eugene Manji stated this during Tuesday’s peaceful protest, in explanation why the union members embarked on a one-day protest in solidarity with ASUU.
Comr. Manji lamented that the prolonged ASUU strike has negative effects on all aspects of lives, particularly educational development, hence the need for all to press on the federal government to do the needful.
Manji used the avenue and called on the Plateau State Governor Simon Lalong to also resolve the lingering education crisis between the state government owned tertiary institutions, who have been on strike long before the current ASUU industrial action.
Speaking during the procession, ASUU Chairperson of the University of Jos chapter, Comr. Luka Maigoro, revealed that ASUU continued strike is to ensure that the federal do not stop funding the educational sector.
He revealed that the federal government has planned to introduce payment of tuition fee up to N750,000 per student in all its owned tertiary institutions.
According to Maigoro, should such policy come to fruition, most Nigerian parents may not be able to sponsor their children in tertiary institutions.
The University of Jos, ASUU chairperson noted with regret that due to economic hardship, most parents may not be able to fund the education their children.
He also revealed that some lecturers haven’t received salary for seven months before the strike began, due to unfriendly policy of the federal government who introduced IPPIS in the university system.
Chairman, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the state, Steve Aluko, who also joined the protest, in an address lamented that the present administration wants to collapse the entire educational system.
The civil society leader insisted that, should government fail to implement its agreement with various unions of tertiary institutions and let them resume academic activities, they will mobilize Nigerians to shutdown the entire economy of the country.
On his part, a senatorial candidate of the Labour Party, Barr Gyang Zi, who also joined the protest, in an interview with journalists said those at the herms of affairs in the educational sector in the country have failed Nigerians.
Barr Zi, who is vying for the Plateau North Senatorial District election called on all Nigerians, irrespective of political affiliation to put more pressure on the federal government to pay all the outstanding funds due to ASUU and other sectors yearning for their legitimate entitlements.
Earlier, President, Student Union (SU), University of Jos, Michael Pam thanked NLC for the intervention, he said Nigerian students are in total support of the protest.
He enjoined his colleagues (students) to ensure that the procession was orderly and peaceful.
The large procession later went to the Plateau State House of Assembly and presented its quest to end the ASUU strike in a letter to the Speaker, Plateau State House of Assembly, Yakubu Sanda.
Sanda in his response said the situation called for mourning due to the negative effects the strike might have caused. He, however, assured NLC and its affiliated unions that the said message shall be delivered to the appropriate authority.
Adding, he said he shall mandate the House Committee on Labour to study the piece and act appropriately.
The NLC procession was peaceful, as security personnel, led by the Police gave full security cover to the procession from the take-off point of about 10 kilometres to its terminating point, being the state House of Assembly Complex.
Recall that the Plateau State government, had earlier advised the state chapter of NLC; not to embark on any form of protest, saying the ban on public protests and processions was still in place in the state.