The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) will from Monday cripple activities at the local and international airports across the country over prolonged strike action embarked by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU had commenced a nationwide strike since February 14, 2022 over the adoption of the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) of the government as the payment system for university staff members.
Other issues raised by ASUU were non-payment of salaries and allowances of some staff, poor funding of universities and the inability of government to pay earned academic allowance to lecturers.
The NANS action, which is expected to last till an indefinite period was due to the successes recorded during its road protest, leading to several blockages on the highways.
Speaking in Akure, the Ondo State capital, the Chairman of NANS National Task Force on ‘End ASUU Strike Now,’ Comrade Ojo Raymond Olumide stated that the shutdown of airports will compel the wealthy and elites to feel the pains of the prolonged strike action.
He lamented that students have been exhausted while pleading with the federal government and ASUU to end the strike.
According to him, "We shall begin another round of protest next week by storming the airspaces on Monday, 19th September 2022 to #OccupyTheAirports. We want to let the world know about the pains and anguish students are going through."
“Nigerian students, whose parents create the commonwealth cannot continue to be suffering at home alongside our lecturers while the few who gain from our sweats and blood have their kids abroad."
“We call on students to rise and join us as we take our destinies into our hands. Our demands remain consistently clear and simple. We call on ASUU leadership for a meeting as soon as possible to discuss solidarity actions and plan for the next phase of the struggles.”
He stated that the students’ body need not inform the police about the planned protest to ground airports because they were not subjected to security agencies.
“Grounding the airport is for us to get solidarity and we will keep on grounding the local and international airports and they will know the effect of us grounding the airport."
“The only thing we request for them is to open our campuses back. We call on the Buhari government to pay all outstanding arrears and salaries of the lecturers. The policy of “No Work No Pay” is a fascist one. It is, therefore condemnable and non-acceptable to all the millions of students in Nigeria."
“We will, by this statement, not beg again. We shall be mobilising all students to shut down the country. No Education! No Movement,” he concluded.
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