By Chigozie Chukwuleta
The Nigeria Labour Congress 2-day nationwide protest that began today across Nigeria as directed by the leadership of the Congress was successfully held in Awka, Anambra state.
All the affiliate unions of the Nigeria Labour Congress participated in the peaceful protest that took place between Ekwueme square and Arroma Junction.
In a letter addressed to the governor of Anambra state and made available to the media, the chairperson of NLC n Anambra state, Comrade Chinwe Orizu, said the rally held in the state is in compliance with the resolution of the Congress.
He informed that the protest represents the first in the series of actions Congress intends to take to compel the government to do the needful
” We are dismayed by the federal government’s paralysis and reluctance to take the necessary steps that could lead to the peaceful resolution of the issues in dispute and by extension end the strike” she said.
Also speaking, the chairperson of ASUU, Nnamdi Azikiwe University chapter, Comrade Steve Ufoaro said that ASUU is 100% in support of the protest as it is about saving Nigeria’s public universities.
“ASUU is 100% in support of the protest. The protest is about saving our public universities. You are aware that public primary, public secondary have been run down. So, they want to destroy our public universities too and we said no”,
“Thank NLC has risen to the challenge by coming to support the struggle. It is a win win for all of us. It is the struggle for Nigerian workers to save our public universities for our children and children’s children unborn. That’s the essence of the protest”, he emphasized.
Explaining the reason behind low turn out of workers during the protest, Comrade Ufoaro said NLC took into consideration the security situation in the state and requested each member union to come with selected individuals.
“All the affiliate unions of NLC are involved but because of publicity and security challenges we don’t want to have a large crowd. We selected individuals from unions. Each union was given a slot”,
” You didn’t see much match because we are conscious of security challenges now especially in Anambra state. That’s why we said we didn’t want to take it into the streets to avoid miscreants hijacking the situation and causing security breach in the city”, he said.
The leadership of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has expressed its preparedness to commence a three-day warning strike from Thursday, which would be immediately after their 2-day nationwide protest that began today
The Congress also warned that it might make the proposed three-day warning strike indefinite if federal government fails to resolve its protracted industrial dispute with public university workers that downed tools over five months ago.
