President Bola Tinubu has directed the Minister of Finance, Mr. Wale Edun, and the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, to collaborate on developing a plan to settle the outstanding four-month salaries owed to non-teaching staff in universities by the Buhari administration.
The organized labour had petitioned Tinubu, complaining about the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Police Command’s violent disruption of their peaceful protest, which was organized to bring attention to the issue of their withheld salaries.
The President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Joe Ajaero, disclosed this at a press briefing with State House correspondents, following a closed-door meeting between the President and labour leaders.
Persecondnews reported earlier today that the Nigeria Police Force’s FCT Command prevented a protest by the Joint Action Committee (JAC), a coalition of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU).
FCT Police Commissioner Kenneth Igwe, unexpectedly arrived at Unity Fountain, warning that no protest would be allowed, and deployed an armoured vehicle and Hilux van to block the area.
Despite union leaders’ appeals, police refused to allow the protest, prompting some members to consider rebelling, but their leaders calmed them down.
The JAC leadership circumvented the police blockade by using their vehicles to deliver letters to the relevant ministries, and they later met with the Ministers of Education and Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, to voice their concerns.
The unions then gave a one-week ultimatum, threatening to launch a full-scale strike and close down universities and inter-university centres, if the four-month outstanding salaries were not paid by then.
Author
Leave a comment