Despite stiff resistance from the state government the Rivers State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), on Tuesday, mobilised its affiliate unions, students’ unions and civil society groups to participate in the nationwide protest march in solidarity with the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The protest was led by the state chairperson of the NLC, Beatrice Itubo, and saw hundreds of workers in Rivers State marching from the Igbokwu street, D/Line office of the NLC through Emenike Street, Mile 1, Ikwerre Road axis, UTC junction down to the Rivers State Government House.
Several of the protesters had placards with different inscriptions against the continued shutting down of public universities in the country and chanting solidarity songs. Some of the inscriptions read: “FG, IPPIS is destroying university system, deploy UTAS now”, “FG end strike now”; “Fund education, pay decent wages”; and “Respect & implement the agreement reached with ASUU”, among many others.
The protesters who conducted themselves peacefully and orderly were however restricted at the approach to the government house gate by Azikiwe Road, by combined team of heavily armed security agents thus blocking one lane of the road and causing heavy traffic along that axis of the road.
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Representatives of the different several unions including, NUPENG, NANS, other academic and non-academic bodies, ASUU and civil society organisations offered words of encouragement to NLC for organising the protest and calling for adequate attention to education by the government and an end to all forms of the strike in the education system.
Addressing the representative of the Rivers State Government, George Nweke, Permanent Secretary, Special Services in the office of the Secretary to the State Government Itubo, told Governor Nyesom Wike that the NLC had come to appeal to him to use his good offices to intervene and encourage the federal government to resolve all pending issues with the university staff and re-open the universities.
She warned that organised labour has decided that there would be no election in 2023 if the government does not agree with the university staff and re-open the schools regretting that those who have shown lack of concern to the education sector are those who benefited immensely from it during their years as students.
Itubo stated: “Congress is dismayed by the Federal Government’s reluctance to take necessary steps to resolve the issues in the dispute and end the strike.”
“The protest is first in the series of actions the NLC has planned to take to compel the government to meet the demands of the striking university workers,” she added.
In his response, the Permanent Secretary exonerated Rivers State from any blame for the ongoing dispute saying that the two state-owned universities in the state and two polytechnics were not affected by the strike as the government was living up to its responsibilities to the schools.
Nweke, however, promised the protesters that the letter and message would be handed over to the state governor whom he said was unavoidable absent from the state, for onward transmission to the Federal Government.
He commended the labour leaders and protesters for conducting themselves peacefully and orderly.
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Rivers NLC joins nationwide protest to demand end of ASUU strike
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Rivers NLC joins nationwide protest to demand end of ASUU strike
