The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities(SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational & Associated Institutions (NASU), Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta(FUNAAB) Chapter, have joined their counterparts nationwide to stage a one-day protest over delay in the implementation of 2009 Negotiation.
Under the aegis of Joint Action Committee(JAC), the two Unions on Thursday held a peaceful protest on campus to register their grievances over the inability of the federal government to honour agreements reached with the unions and pay all outstanding money owed to them.
The joint protest, which commenced from the Secretariat of both Unions, saw members displaying placards with various inscriptions to register their demands.
While the JAC members sang various solidarity songs, they marched through various parts of the campus to the university Senate building, where they met with the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, HRM Oba Rasheed Ayotunde Olabomi, Odundun IV, the Aragbiji of Iragbiji; the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Babatunde Kehinde; and other Principal Officers.
The protesting workers appealed to the Pro-Chancellor to use his good offices to intervene in the impasse between the government and workers in universities across the country.
Addressing the JAC members, Oba Olabomi appreciated the aggrieved workers for making the protest a peaceful one without hindering the academic atmosphere in the University.
He promised to convey the Unions’ message to the Visitor, noting that they should remain hopeful and believe that the government would respond to their requests.
Chairman of SSANU, Comrade Olugbenga Alayode, addressing newsmen, lamented the suffering of the members, saying that the Federal Government has not been sincere about the plight of SSANU/NASU in the sector.
For his part, Comrade Samson Edivri, Chairman of NASU, also spoke in the same light, calling on government to stop making empty promises.
The protesters marched on campus with display of placards conveying: “No more Empty Promises: Action Now!” and “Treat SSANU/NASU members with dignity” among other such messages.
