Nigeria’s federal government, on Wednesday, announced that the planned solidarity march by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) with the striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is illegal.
Recall that on Sunday, the NLC announced that it would kick off a nationwide protest on July 26 and 27 to pressure the federal government to resolve the five-month-long strike by ASUU.
The academic union embarked on a one-month warning strike on February 14. Other associations such as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Non-Academic Staff Union of Allied and Educational Institutions and National Association of Academic Technologists later followed suit, shutting down their activities in universities nationwide.
Addressing State House Correspondents on Wednesday after the Federal Executive Council meeting chaired by President Muhammadu Buhari, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and Culture, said the planned street protest is illegal since the NLC has no pending dispute with the government.
Mohammed accuses the congress of being motivated by partisan interests, advising it to “insulate itself completely from politics.”
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