Kwara State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) on Tuesday joined the National body of the Union to stage a protest rally to force the Nigerian government to attend to the demands of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) on University revitalisation.
The Union members which included NLC, ASUU, NASU, SANU and other allied Unions carried placards with various inscriptions such as “There is only one way forward, honour our agreement, National protest to get our children back to school amongst others, went round areas like Post Office, Challenge, A-Division Round About and Government House on Ahmadu Bello way Ilorin to submit their letter to the state government.
Speaking with Journalists at the NLC Secretariat in Ilorin, the Kwara State Chairman of the Union, Comrade Aliyu Isa-Ore, said the rally was organised in solidarity with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members to press home their demands on the need for the federal government to honour their agreement.
He said the federal government had signed an agreement with ASUU some years back on University revitalisation among other sundry issues.
Comrade Isa-Ore, explained that if the federal government refused to heed their demands after the rally, the Union will go on a three-day warning strike.
In their separate remarks the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) University of Ilorin, Professor Moyosore Ajao, and the Chairman of the National Association of Academic Technologists Union, Comrade Awolola Femi, commended the NLC for supporting their course.
Prof.Saliu Ajao, the Chairperson, University of Ilorin Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), noted that university workers’ demands were legitimate.
According to him, ASUU’s demands were long overdue and legitimate to deserve government’s attention.
“Let the government tell us which of our demands are not legitimate, we have the right to ask for what we deserve.
“Is it our salary that has not increased in the last 13 years or our demand for government to make infrastructure available?.
“We are not robots. Treat us like humans and save our children from idleness at home and becoming public nuisance” he said.
Ajao also called for the enactment of a law to ban Nigerians from schooling abroad in order to allow growth in Nigeria’s educational system.
The Chairperson National Association of Academic Technologist Unilorin branch, Comrade Awolola Femi Paul, said” we are also an affiliate member under NLC that is our parent body, therefore we are in full support because the government has shown so much insensitivity to the happenings in the University system.
“This struggle is not just for us who are staff of the University it is for our students, if you look at the decay status at the University today you will be surprised non of this big people allow their children to come to these Universities.
“If you look at our classrooms they are dilapidated, if you look at our laboratories there is no equipment, there is no chemical to bring out good research, look at our hostels they are down, look at every infrastructure in that University it is down, how can we continue like this.
“Brain drain is happening in the University all of our good hands are getting out of this country, we are in full support of this because we are fighting for the future of our children, we are fighting for the future of the youths of this country, we cannot allow things to go down like this, the only thing we can do is to come out in support of our parent body” he added.
