Following the lingering crises of the National Union of Nigerian University workers (ASUU) that have continued unabated for six months, the Association of Nigerian Aviation Professionals (ANAP) and the National Association of Aircraft Pilot and Engineers (NAAPE) have threatened to join the Nigerian Labour Congress for the upcoming two days protest. In a similar manner, the National Union of Banks, Insurance and Financial Institutions Employees (NUBIFIE) have also threatened to shut down operations in solidarity with the Nigerian Labour Congress, NLC to support the ASUU struggle.
The series of threats from the trade unions follow the directive from the NLC via correspondence directing all its members nationwide to embark on a two-day protest on 26 and 27thof July 2022 in support of the ASUU struggle.
General Secretary of ANAP, Abdulrasaq Saidu, while issuing statements to its members called the federal government to end the industrial action to avert the ugly situation.
He revealed that the lingering strike has led to a surge of social vices in communities as idle youth in their number are redundant making the country a laughing stock in a league of nations.
The statement partly reads, “ASUU, NASU, SAUTHRIAI, NAAT had been on strike for more than four months due to the apparent failure of government to sign the re-negotiated 2009 agreement with ASUU, failure to honour the terms reached at in the May 2022 MoU signed with ASUU, and habitual failure of government to respect collective bargaining agreements willingly signed with labour unions.
Saidu added, “Our children are using eight years to read courses of four years with resources being wasted. We cannot continue this way.”
in the same way, NUBIFIE in its statement by its national president, Anthony Abakpa, and Mohammed Sheikh, General Secretary, said “if, after the one-day protest by NLC on this issue nothing is done, the union will have no other option than to call out all our members in banks, insurance and other financial institutions in solidarity with ASUU.”
Similarly, NAAPE in a statement by its deputy general secretary, Umoh Ofonime, also said the refusal of the federal government to honour the agreement signed with the union in 2009 “is very disturbing considering the negative impact the prolonged strike will create in the life of these children.”
