The Kwara State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has urged the Federal Government to implement the agreement it signed with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to rescue the dying tertiary education system in the country.
The NLC Chairman, Comrade Aliyu Issa-Ore, made the appeal yesterday in Ilorin during its solidarity protest with ASUU.
He recalled that the government had signed an agreement with ASUU some years back on university revitalisation and other sundry issues.
“Just implement what you signed and let the students go back to school. It is becoming frustrating and unbearable seeing students becoming idle.
“Federal Government should try and honour the agreement for the sake of the students. University workers deserve the best,” he said.
The Chairman of ASUU, University of Ilorin, Prof. Moyosore Ajao, commended the NLC for supporting their cause.
Ajao described ASUU’s demands as legitimate and should be urgently addressed to rescue Nigeria’s educational system.
He said that the struggle belonged to the entire nation and not ASUU alone, urging the public to join hands to rescue education from collapse in our country.
“No nation would grow beyond its intellectual capacity. Government should stop seeing education as optional,” he said.
NAN reports that the protest witnessed a massive turn out of union members, including NLC, ASUU, NASU, SANU and other allied unions.
The union members marched through the Post Office, Challenge, A-Division Round About, Ahmadu Bello Way and Government House, Ilorin, to submit their appeal letter to the Federal Government through Gov. Abdul Rahman Abdul Razaq.