Teddy Oscar, Abuja
The Trade Union Congress of Nigeria (TUC) has urged the Federal Government to urgently take measures to end the four-month old strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the failure of the Federal Government to fulfil its obligations under the 2009 agreement reached with the union.
According to a statement issued in Abuja by TUC secretary general, Comrade Musa Lawal, the congress is seriously disturbed that the government has remained obdurate about addressing this issue that bothers on Nigeria’s future, despite protests and appeals by parents, students, market women and other Nigerians from all walks of life.
“It is high time our governments at all levels embrace the culture of respecting and adhering to agreements. There is no gainsaying the fact that ASUU’s strike has been allowed to drag on for too long, and the consequences are incalculable.
“We insist that it now behoves government to move and address the issues at stake. Also, the government must refrain from sponsoring protest groups against ASUU. Any nation that abandons its youth developmental and educational system inadvertently abandons its tomorrow.
“The congress will not allow this to happen in Nigeria. We shall not fold our arms and allow the nation’s educational system to collapse or be totally subject to the whims and caprices of a privileged few in positions of authority,” the statement read.
Meanwhile, after an extensive deliberation on how to give the Nigerian workers a befitting housing scheme with the board of the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), the congress resolved to support, partner and work with FMBN on the National Housing Fund for the provision of minimum of 3.5 million housing units of various ranges for Nigerian workers within the next 15 years.
The housing project, which is in collaboration with the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), is to be completed with necessary infrastructural facilities.
