By; MKPUMA ENYINNA, Abakaliki
The Chairman of Nigeria Labor Congress (NLC), Ebonyi State Chapter, Comrade Ikechukwu Nwafor has lamented that the Federal Government of Nigeria has betrayed education sector, stating that those who betrayed others shall be betrayed as well.
The union members who gathered at Pa-Ngele Oruta Township Stadium, while others converged on Pastoral Centre, Mile 50 Layout, Abakaliki, lamented that the Federal Government of Nigeria has refused to pay adequate attention to the demands of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which has crippled education sector in Nigeria.
In his remarks during the solidarity protest, the chairman of NLC in Ebonyi State, Comrade Ikechukwu Nwafor said that the lingering ASUU industrial action has caused more harm than good as students of various tertiary institutions in Nigeria are now being used as instruments of violence and destabilization in the hands of politicians, saying that if urgent action is not taken to call off the strike, it will give more rooms for insecurity in Nigeria.
He also noted that even workers in the state have been abandoned since none of their allowances and other entitlements has been paid.
Also speaking, the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ebonyi State University Chapter, Comrade Ikechukwu Igwenyi noted that the deplorable situation of academic institutions in Nigeria is alarming as some students are learning under trees because of dilapidated facilities that need to be replaced and made functional for effective and efficient learning environment.
He therefore, called on the Federal Government to do everything possible to resolve the lingering ASUU strike in order to have a conducive learning environment and save the future of our children.
“Federal Government has betrayed the education sector and Ebonyi State Government led by Governor David Umahi has also betrayed the workers of Ebonyi State.
“We stand to say that those who betrayed the workers of the state will himself be betrayed, ” he stated.
Also, the chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Alex Ekweme Federal University, Ndufu- Alike Ikwo (AE-FUNAI) and that of Ebonyi State College of Education, among others who spoke to journalists during the protest, said they are not going back on the strike until their demands are met by the Federal Government.
“We are here today to call for emancipation of our country from the hands of those who want to kill it. The main purpose of this struggle is to tell Nigerians that we have government that is insincere to the plight of Nigerians.
“In five months, university lecturers are at home and we cannot teach our students. The lecturers are not well taken care of. We shall not back down until Federal Government does the needful.
“We shall not back down until the 2009 agreement is implemented, we shall not back down until Integrated Payroll and Personal Information System (IPPIS) is recalled, we shall not back down until the Universal Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) is implemented,” he said.
The peaceful protest took place in different parts of Abakaliki, the Ebonyi State Capital as various unions under NLC came out in their numbers in solidarity to express their grievances.
