• Planned protest illegal – FG

The stage for a showdown between the Federal Government and labour unions may have been set over the plan by the Nigeria Union Congress to mobilise workers for a two-day nationwide protest in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities currently on a prolonged strike.

Many workers’ unions including the aviation workers have indicated interest to participate in the rally.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Wednesday said the protest was illegal since the NLC had no pending disputes with the government.

But the NLC insisted that the planned protest would still hold on July 26 and 27, despite the directive given by President Muhammadu Buhari to education minister to resolve the strike issue within two weeks.

ASUU had embarked on strike on February 14 to press home its demand for the implementation of the October 2009 ASUU/FGN agreement.

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions and National Association of Academic Technologists later joined the industrial action.

President Muhammadu Buhari  on Tuesday directed the Minister of Education, Adamu Adamu, to resolve the five-month strike within two weeks and report back to him.

In solidarity with ASUU, the NLC on July 17 announced that it would kick off a nationwide protest to pressure the federal government to resolve the crisis in the tertiary education sector.

Head, Information and Public Affairs at the NLC, Mr Benson Upah, told The Punch that the government could resolve the lingering strike within three days if it was serious about the crisis, stressing that the union was going ahead with its protests.
He stated, “We’re still going ahead (with the protests). The public action is on the July 26th and then the mega one is on (July) 27th. So, I mean, of what effect will two weeks have on that?
“I am saying that had the government asked the minister of education to solve this problem within two or three days, aha. But he is giving him two weeks, and two weeks will come after our protest must have taken place. Don’t you think so? So it’s like take charge of it.’’
Even as he acknowledged the ultimatum handed down to the education minister, the NLC spokesman said it would not change the proposed rally.
He said, ‘’If the government wants to end this matter today, I assure you that they will be able to fix it in three hours. Remember when the airline operators planned to go on strike and within hours there was an intervention; remember?
“The summary of what I want to tell you is that nothing has happened for us to change our proposed action. All I know is that we’re going on with our action.’’
Responding to allegation that the protest was illegal, Upah said the minister should be worried by the damage caused to the education system by the protracted strike.
He noted, “Freedom of expression, freedom of protest are within the ambit of the law and guaranteed by the constitution; so, he (minister) does not have the power to abolish it.”

Minister Mohammed, addressing State House correspondents after Wednesday’s Federal Executive Council meeting, said the NLC’s action was being motivated by partisan interests, adding that it was supposed to be “completely insulated from politics.”

He said, “The NLC is not a political party. The NLC can go on strike or protest if the rights of the NLC members are involved. What the NLC is planning in the next few days is about interest. There’s no dispute whatsoever between NLC as a body with the Federal Government.

“Well yes, there’s a dispute between some members of the NLC, ASUU and the federal government, which is being looked into. And NLC itself is a party to the committee that is looking into the solution.

“So, calling out people on street protest; you begin to wonder, what is the motive of the NLC in this matter? But you see here, we do not interrogate what the NLC is doing. The NLC by its own laws cannot even give out pamphlets. And the NLC is supposed to be completely insulated from politics.”

In his reaction, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, said in March that the government had paid over N92bn , including N40bn for earned academic allowances for ASUU and other unions and N30bn for university revitalisation as part of the implementation of the agreement reached with the union in December 2020.

The FG had reconstituted a team to renegotiate the 2009 agreement it had with the varsity teachers. The team was headed by Pro-Chancellor, Alex Ekwueme Federal University, Ndufu-Alike Ikwo, Prof Nimi Briggs.

Speaking on plans by aviation workers to join the strike in solidarity with ASUU, the Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, said the move should be jettisoned as it would put lives at risk.

He said, “I’m naturally concerned about this if the aviation union will shut down in support of ASUU. I would say they have no need to. This is democracy. You can push for demands. But in pressing for demands, you should be reasonable in doing so; where lives can be lost because of your own activity. I think it should be reconsidered.

“So, civil aviation workers should not be part of this. We’ve spoken to them and I don’t think they will join because they know that there’s a huge responsibility for lives on their heads.

“I believe that they are very aware of the enormous responsibility upon them in civil aviation and they should continue to see it so and continue to be as law-abiding as we want them to be.”