The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) plans to begin a three-day nationwide strike in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The NLC had previously issued the government a 21-day ultimatum to address the demands of ASUU. As it stands, none of those demands have been met. ASUU has been on strike for the last two months due to the failure of the government to implement various agreements. As we earlier reported, the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) also plans to begin a strike of their own next week.
READ MORE: ASUP Are Threatening to Shut Down Polytechnics in Nigeria
In a communication released on Thursday, the NLC Central Working Committee explained that its solidarity protests and strike is to draw the government’s attention to the prolonged shutdown of universities in the country.
The statement signed by NLC President, Ayuba Wabba and General Secretary, Emmanuel Ugboaja read,
“Within the span of the subsisting 21 days ultimatum given by congress, the NLC will hold nationwide protests against the current strike action affecting students of Nigeria’s public universities and occasioned by the government’s failure to honour the agreement reached with trade unions in our universities.
“The protest is to draw the attention of the government to the inherent catastrophe in the emerging culture of social apartheid in our society, especially as marked by a prolonged lockout of students from working-class and poor homes from our public universities while the children of the rich continue their academic pursuits uninterrupted;