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The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has commenced a solidarity protest to support the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in Lagos.
Recall that NLC had said it would hold a protest rally in all the state capitals on Tuesday, July 26, while the mega rally would take place in Abuja on Wednesday, July 27, to pressure the Federal Government to meet ASUU’s demands.
About 40 NLC affiliates, including aviation, bank, oil and gas, electricity and construction workers are expected to participate in the protest.
ASUU had shut all public universities and commenced its ongoing strike on February 14, 2022, after the FG failed to meet some of its demands including the release of revitalisation funds for universities, renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, release of earned allowances for university lecturers, and deployment of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution platform for the payment of salaries and allowances of university lecturers.
Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, had last Wednesday declared the protest illegal, saying the NLC had no dispute with the government.
The next day, Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, also cautioned against the demonstration, saying he received a security report from the Department of State Services that the rally might be hijacked by hoodlums.
However, members of the NLC are currently protesting in Ikeja area of Lagos State.
See pictures below: