Strike of university workers: the NLC presents its demands to the National Assembly
Protesting workers led by Nigerian Labor Congress President Ayuba Wabba presented a letter detailing their demands to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Hundreds of protesters marched from the Fountain of Unity, a popular protest ground in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to the National Assembly, chanting songs of solidarity to mark the second and the final day of a two-day protest organized by the union against the continued closure of public universities in Nigeria.
The protest was organized by all NLC state chapters on Tuesday and the finale in Abuja on Wednesday.
However, Senate President Ahmad Lawanm and Femi Gbajabiamilia, Speaker of the House of Representatives, were not there to receive the protesters' demand letters.
Instead, some senators and a member of the House of Representatives met with the protesting workers to receive the letter.
A former chairman of the House Labor Committee, Mohammed Wudil, who received the letter on behalf of the House, promised the crowd that the issues would be urgently addressed and resolved as soon as possible.
He said, "As soon as possible, the chamber will bring ministers, NLC, NANS to the same table to provide a lasting solution to the problem.
“We will make this an emergency issue and deal with it urgently. I assure you that we are up to the task,” he added.
The four senators who received the document on behalf of the President of the Senate are Senators Robert Boroface, Utazi Chukwuka and Haliru Jika.
Mr. Utazi, who was speaking on behalf of the President of the Senate, promised to work hard to resolve the lingering issues behind the closure of universities.
"We are going back and working harder to make all these things end and everyone be happy," Mr. Utazi said.
In addition to labor unions, Nigerian students from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) also participated in the protest.
ClosingUniversity professors at the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have shut down tools for more than five months, demanding better funding for the system.
READ ALSO: Strike: Wabba, Shehu Sani and Ene Obi lead nationwide protest in AbujaThe Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Other Associated Institutions (NASU) are also on strike, crippling the activities of public universities.
All striking unions have rejected the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) as a payment platform for workers. They are also calling for better welfare for their members and better funding for the university system.
NASU, SSANU speakSpeaking, SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim said that 13 years after the first renegotiation in 2009, the union has seen nothing worthwhile coming out of it.
He said that unlike the ASUU, the union never had the opportunity to renegotiate the 2009 agreement with all of the previously constituted panels.
“What is happening now is the failure of a generation. Our leaders have failed,” he said.
For its part, NASU wants all university unions to come together and negotiate with the government.
NASU has accused the government of using divide and conquer tactics to break the power of unions.
Meanwhile, COEASU President Smart Olugbeko said the problems in colleges of education are the same as in universities nationwide.
He said the government had deliberately neglected teacher training.
Like their academic counterparts, workers at colleges of education have also criticized the continued use of IPPIS for the payment of salaries to its members.
He said, “The situation in Nigerian tertiary institutions is the same because we (COEASU) are facing government neglect in education.
“At this juncture, we have decided to take the bull by the horn. Our demand remains the revitalization of the Colleges of Education in Nigeria. needs assessment."
NANS Chairman Sunday Asefon said "enough with the broken promises of the Nigerian government...
Protesting workers led by Nigerian Labor Congress President Ayuba Wabba presented a letter detailing their demands to the National Assembly on Wednesday.
Hundreds of protesters marched from the Fountain of Unity, a popular protest ground in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), to the National Assembly, chanting songs of solidarity to mark the second and the final day of a two-day protest organized by the union against the continued closure of public universities in Nigeria.
The protest was organized by all NLC state chapters on Tuesday and the finale in Abuja on Wednesday.
However, Senate President Ahmad Lawanm and Femi Gbajabiamilia, Speaker of the House of Representatives, were not there to receive the protesters' demand letters.
Instead, some senators and a member of the House of Representatives met with the protesting workers to receive the letter.
A former chairman of the House Labor Committee, Mohammed Wudil, who received the letter on behalf of the House, promised the crowd that the issues would be urgently addressed and resolved as soon as possible.
He said, "As soon as possible, the chamber will bring ministers, NLC, NANS to the same table to provide a lasting solution to the problem.
“We will make this an emergency issue and deal with it urgently. I assure you that we are up to the task,” he added.
The four senators who received the document on behalf of the President of the Senate are Senators Robert Boroface, Utazi Chukwuka and Haliru Jika.
Mr. Utazi, who was speaking on behalf of the President of the Senate, promised to work hard to resolve the lingering issues behind the closure of universities.
"We are going back and working harder to make all these things end and everyone be happy," Mr. Utazi said.
In addition to labor unions, Nigerian students from the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) and the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) also participated in the protest.
ClosingUniversity professors at the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have shut down tools for more than five months, demanding better funding for the system.
READ ALSO: Strike: Wabba, Shehu Sani and Ene Obi lead nationwide protest in AbujaThe Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Other Associated Institutions (NASU) are also on strike, crippling the activities of public universities.
All striking unions have rejected the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) as a payment platform for workers. They are also calling for better welfare for their members and better funding for the university system.
NASU, SSANU speakSpeaking, SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim said that 13 years after the first renegotiation in 2009, the union has seen nothing worthwhile coming out of it.
He said that unlike the ASUU, the union never had the opportunity to renegotiate the 2009 agreement with all of the previously constituted panels.
“What is happening now is the failure of a generation. Our leaders have failed,” he said.
For its part, NASU wants all university unions to come together and negotiate with the government.
NASU has accused the government of using divide and conquer tactics to break the power of unions.
Meanwhile, COEASU President Smart Olugbeko said the problems in colleges of education are the same as in universities nationwide.
He said the government had deliberately neglected teacher training.
Like their academic counterparts, workers at colleges of education have also criticized the continued use of IPPIS for the payment of salaries to its members.
He said, “The situation in Nigerian tertiary institutions is the same because we (COEASU) are facing government neglect in education.
“At this juncture, we have decided to take the bull by the horn. Our demand remains the revitalization of the Colleges of Education in Nigeria. needs assessment."
NANS Chairman Sunday Asefon said "enough with the broken promises of the Nigerian government...
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