Students in Lagos plan to protest over ASUU strike on Friday, January 25, 2019

A group of students of tertiary institutions in Lagos under the aegis of Concerned Nigerian Students are planning to protest on Friday, January 25 2019 to express their displeasure over ASUU strike.

The students in a statement sent to Pulse on Wednesday, January 23, 2019, asked the Federal Government to fulfil the agreement it willfully entered with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in order for them to get back to school.

Federal Government representatives and leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities during one of their meetings to end ASUU strike Pulse Nigeria

Recall that the Federal Government and the ASUU leaders have had eight meetings to resolve the ongoing strike which has entered week twelve.

The statement reads in part: ‘’The March tagged #BlackFridayWalk which was earlier scheduled to start by 10am after a Press Conference at the University of Lagos was suspended till further notice for security reasons.

The leadership of the Coalition submitted a letter to the Police informing them of the peaceful protest and the only accepted reason given by the Police to suspend the March is the security situation in Lagos, citing the violence that claimed lives at the APC rally on Tuesday and the reprisal attacks they envisage.

A cartoon depicting the strike action by ASUU (National Daily) Pulse Nigeria

We were very clear that it is never in the interest of the Nigerian State and its instrumentality; in this case, the Police to harbor dissidence, freedom of association and expression. Nevertheless, it is in the understanding of the tension in the political space the thieving ruling class have created, the leadership suspended the protest to prevent any breach of public peace by their agents who are only interested in leaving sorrow, tears and blood.

We called on all Nigerian students to be on the alert for a new date and schedule which is as follows: Date: Friday, 25th of January 2019. Venue: MRS Filling Station Beside UNILAG’’.

On Tuesday, January 22, 2019, Pulse reported the Federal Government and the leaders of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had another meeting on Monday, January 21, 2019.

ASUU president, Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi ece-auto-gen

But the eighth meeting which held at the Federal Ministry of Labour headquarters ended any concrete solution to the ongoing strike.

ASUU declared an indefinite nationwide strike on Sunday, November 4, 2018 at its NEC meeting held at the Federal University of Technology, Akure and since then, both the union and the Federal Government have been going back and forth to resolve the crisis