By; OLADELE ADEDAYO, Ado-Ekiti
The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC),Ekiti State Chapter on Tuesday, staged protest in compliance with the directive issued by the leadership of the Union to embark on mass protest across the country in support to the demands being agitated by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) from the Federal Government.
The peaceful protest of the Union however caused gridlock in major areas of the state capital,Ado-Ekiti.
However, the free flow of traffic was also affected as the union expressed dissatisfaction over failure of government to resolve the prolonged strike by university workers.
The Labour Union alongside their affiliates were seen on the roads in Ado-Ekiti, the state capital with various inscriptions on their placards.
While the Student Union was not left out in the protest as they all alleged “nonchallant attitude and insensitivity of Federal Government to the plight of the lecturers”.
Motorists and commuters were stranded for hours as economic activities were paralyzed during the protest.
The road was blocked and there was no representative of government that showed up at the House of Assembly to receive or address the protesters.
The workers described the action of government as “disrespectful”.
In his remark,the NLC Chairman, Comrade Kolapo Olatunde who declared the protest as tips of the ice berg” said
“We solicit the support and intervention of the state government in the matter of the dispute between the federal government and the unions in the tertiary education subsector.
“This dispute has manifested in a strike action for the past five months and has come at a huge cost to the students, the university staff,parents,the government ,other stakeholders and the entire country.
“The strike is over the non observance by government of the agreement it voluntarily entered into with the unions. It has also been about imposition of IPPIS on the university unions to which they have taken objection with credible reasons.
“We are dismayed by the federal government paralysis and reluctance to take the necessary step that could lead to the peaceful resolution of the issue in dispute and by extension ,end the strike.”
