The Senate President, Ahmad Lawan and the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Idris Wase, both refused to address leaders of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) who marched on the National Assembly complex on Wednesday, July 27.
The union leaders, in their hundreds, stormed the National Assembly complex to demand an end to the prolonged strike action embarked upon by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
It however took threats from the labour leaders before Senator Boroface Ajayi and Rep. Muhammad Wudil, Chairman, House Committee on Labour, appeared to address the protesters.
The protest was aimed at pressuring the federal government to resolve all demands by the university-based union.
Addressing workers, NLC National President, Comrade Ayuba Wabba, insisted that congress wouldn’t relent in its efforts until the federal government resolves all lingering issues with the university workers.
Comrade Wabba said no reason was good enough for the children of the poor to remain at home for more than five months while the children of the rich are going to schools abroad.
He said, “No justification for this situation, if the government is not ready to resolve the issues, we are not going to be tired, we must be angry because this is not what we bargained for in electing our leaders.
“This is just the beginning, you must be ready to salvage the education sector, we are tired of government antics and we must take our destiny in our hands.
“They said we are a security threat but their action is a threat to democracy, we are resetting the country to ensure that our leaders do the right thing.
“We commend the governors who came out to talk yesterday, we want solutions and we want the issue to be solved, we will not allow a few elites to destroy the future of Nigerian children,” he added.
Also speaking, ASUU National President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, insisted that the federal government must implement the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS).