ASUU STRIKE

NLC's planned one-day protest over the ASUU strike:

In an effort to pressure the Federal Government to accede to the requests of university-based unions, the Nigeria Labour Congress announced on Thursday that it would stage a one-day national demonstration.

The congress took note of reports from a meeting of its Central Working Committee indicating that negotiations with the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, and National Association of Academic Technologists had not progressed.

At the beginning of the National Executive Council meeting of the Congress in Abuja, Ayuba Wabba, the president of the NLC, spoke.

Wabba instructed all of the NLC's affiliate unions to provide instructions regarding the upcoming one-day national protest starting the following week.

"I believe there is hesitation in dealing with this problem (of the strike), thus CWC has agreed there will be a one-day nationwide demonstration to draw the government's attention to the need to fix the matter right away. The CWC will then make its subsequent decision, he said.

But he did not say when the nationwide demonstration will take place.

Wabba also bemoaned the nation's current fuel shortage and said that the congress was looking into the dismissal of teachers by the Kaduna State Government.

The President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (ret. ), was encouraged on Thursday by the Committee of Vice-Chancellors of Nigerian Universities to hasten the process of resolving continuing conflicts between the government and the unions.

The decision was announced by the committee's chairman, Prof. Samuel Edoumiekumo, at the Abuja introduction of the document on intellectual property policy for universities.

"We demand immediate action to stop the hemorrhage the system is currently experiencing. We must make the choice for the benefit of our society and children, he declared.