UNIPORT Students Protest ASUU Strike …As COEASU Begins 7-Day Warning Strike

L-R: Chief of Defence Staff, Adm. Ola Ibrahim, Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Defence, Alhaji Aliyu Sumaila and Commandant, National Defence College (NDC), Rear Adm. Thomas Lokoson, at the inauguration ceremony of NDC Course 22 in Abuja, yesterday.

Angered by the continued shut down of academic activities in the universities across the nation as a result of  the over two-month strike by Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), students of the  University of Port Harcourt last Monday staged a peaceful protest in Port Harcourt even as lecturers in Colleges of Education embarked on a 7 –day warning strike to show solidarity to their university counterparts.
The students, who barricaded the busy Choba junction of the East/West Road, chanted solidarity songs in support of the striking lecturers, urging the Federal Government to pay their teachers.
Some of the placards had the following inscriptions, “Pay ASUU”, FG Come To Our Aid, “Jonathan Save our Education”.
The protest, which started as early as 10am and lasted for hours, saw the students defy the heavy down pour.
Prince Charles , one of the students who spoke to The Tide said ‘ we are tired of staying at home doing nothing when the world is in a haste to move forward”.
Charles, who said he is a 200-level student in the School of Humanities, expressed disappointment that the government had refused to pay the university lecturers even when the two parties in their negotiations had reached an agreement.
Federal Government should respect the agreement of 2009 it reached with ASUU”, and described it as a mark of irresponsibility for government to back-out of such agreement.
Another respondent, Miss Ify Mark pleaded with President Jonathan to come to the aid of the students by intervening in the situation.
She said, ‘ from what l gathered, our President was once a student of UNIPORT and was also an academic. I expect that he should save the situation, “ adding that the education sector was collapsing.
NANS leader, Jonah Adoki also appealed to the Rivers State Governor, Rt Hon Chibuike Amaechi to intervene so as to save the situation.
In his message to the governor, Mr Adoki said the students have paid their school fees and were tired of staying  at home doing nothing.
He also used the opportunity to request the payment of students bursary by the state government, and the  appointment of a Special Adviser to the Governor on Students Affairs.
In a similar development, lecturers in the College of Education nationwide yesterday commenced a one-week warning strike.
The  lecturers, under the umbrella body of Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), said the strike was to remind the Federal Government of the agreement reached over their demand.
The Tide gathered that Adeyemi College of Education (ACE), Ondo State yesterday shut down academic activities and abruptly suspended an ongoing examination to observe the COEASU directive.