Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Commercial and economic activities were disrupted for hours, Tuesday in Umuahia, Abia State capital as workers took to the streets in solidarity with the four university-based unions which have been on strike for six months now.
The sympathy protest was in compliance with the directive by the Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, against the failure of the Federal Government to meet the demands of the four university-based unions.
Vehicular movement along Bank Road where the Government House is located, and adjoining roads, was a hectic task as workers marched through to register their displeasure over Government’s failure to address the university unions’ demands.
The protesters carried placards with various inscriptions and chanted solidarity songs.
Addressing the workers later after the peaceful protest at the event centre at Okpara Square, the Vice Chairman of the the Abia State Chairman of NLC, Comrade Hope Ekwuruibe, said the protest was against insensitivity of the Federal Government.
He said that labour was fully standing with the university based-unions in their demand for their rights, and urged the Federal Government to do the needful.
The NLC boss thanked workers for trooping out en masse in compliance with the directive of the national leadership of Labour.
He, however, said that there would be no protest in Abia on Wednesday explaining that the protest would continue in Abuja by the members of states and national leaderships of NLC.
Workers from various unions including the National Union of Local Government Employees, NULGE; Nigeria Union of Journalists, NUJ; Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT; Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, from both the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, and the Abia State University Uturu, ABSU; among others were sighted at the peaceful rally.
Meanwhile, the Abia State NLC Chairman, Comrade Uchenna Obigwe, who has been at a loggerhead with the national leadership of NLC, earlier at a press briefing at NLC office at Aba Road, expressed solidarity with the university-based unions but directed workers in the state not to proceed with any street rally.
He cited the security challenges in the country as reason for advising against rallies to avoid hoodlums from hijacking it.
“We don’t want to do any rally on the streets of Abia because we don’t want to lose any worker. If they kill anybody they will blame it on NLC.
“I call upon Abia workers to go back to their offices. There is enough hunger in the land. The national leadership of NLC should engage the Federal Government.”
Obigwe blamed the national leadership of NLC for calling for the solidarity protest late arguing it ought to have been done about one month into the six-month old strike.
He said that the national leadership of NLC was busy pursuing shadows instead of mounting pressure on the Government to be alive to its responsibilities.
According to him, the 2020 #EndSARS protest that claimed lives of many innocent youths would have been averted if NLC had acted early to resist the issues that made the youths to take to the streets.
Accusing the national leadership of NLC of political bias, Obigwe said NLC should directly engage President Muhammadu Buhari and force him to resolve the ongoing strike by university unions.
“Is Buhari a masquerade? NLC should engage the President directly not the Minister of Labour who has been proved to be deceiving ASUU. Unions negotiate with the highest Authority not a subordinate.”
Obigwe decried the deterioration in public tertiary institutions in the country and urged the Federal Government to sit up.
He said it was no longer acceptable for top Government officials to send their children and wards abroad for studies while they allow public universities to decay.
Obigwe wondered why Government could not effectively run few public universities in the country when private universities which are more in number have continued to flourish.
He said the sorry state of affairs in public tertiary institutions in the country had started having adverse effect on the quality of products they churn out.
Obigwe later read a letter from the Commissioner of Police, advising NLC to limit the protest to a restricted environment as the safety of protesters would not be guaranteed on the streets due to the prevailing security challenges.
