Protests in Nigerian states against strike by university workers

Workers in many Nigerian states on Tuesday were joined by thousands of students and parents to protest the continued closure of public universities across the country due to unresolved labor disputes university workers and the government.< /p>

From Kaduna to Plateau, Edo to Akwa-Ibom, Lagos, Ogun, Jigawa, Benue to Kwara, among other states in the federation, protesting workers handed over their list of demands to state governors for that they continue handing over to President Muhammadu Buhari.

They condemned the prolonged closure of universities, blaming the development on government failure.

Led by the Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC), the umbrella body of many labor unions in Nigeria, the protesters also included leaders of human rights and civil society groups, including the human rights lawyer Femi Falana.

Furthermore, members of the striking state sections of the University Workers Unions - Academic Staff of Nigerian Universities (ASUU), Association of Senior Staff of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Allied Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), gathered en masse to participate in the protest.

Protesters at NLC nationwide protest in Lagos< /em>

But national leaders have said the first day of the two-day protest will only take place in all states, while a nationwide protest takes place. would be held in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja on Wednesday.

NLC Chief Information Officer Benson Upah told the PREMIUM TIMES reporter in his office on Tuesday that Wednesday's protest would be peaceful but the message would be very strong.

Enugu

In Enugu, protesters gathered at the NLC state office near New Market in the Enugu North local government area of ​​the state before moving into the streets to converge on the government secretariat.

Meanwhile, heavily armed police guarded the demonstrators without aggression, but the mass movement caused a stalemate in the metropolis of Enugu.

The protest was led by NLC chairman in the state, Virginus Nwobodo, who handed the union's demand to the state government secretary, Simon Ortuanya, who represented Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi .

Mr. Nwobodo told the governor that they were at the secretariat to ask him to raise their concerns with President Muhammadu Buhari, regarding the ongoing industrial action...