OSAS EMMANUEL
NIGERIA: The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has issued a stern warning to the government, citing the potential for a major national protest following the violent dispersal of a peaceful demonstration in Abuja.
The Head of Information and Public Affairs, Benson Upah, in a statement issued yesterday, expressed outrage over the actions of the FCT Police Command, led by Commissioner Bennett Igweh, who deployed excessive force against members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) who were billed to protest yesterday.
The protest scheduled to commence at the Unity Fountain was intended to draw attention to the non-payment of the four months’ withheld salaries, but it was met with a heavy police presence, including armored tanks, assault dogs, and officers in battle gear.
A mild drama ensued yesterday at the Unity Fountain in Abuja, as stern looking security personnel prevented the protesting members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and that of the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) from leaving the convergence point.
As early as 9 am, armed Police personnel, who were deployed with Armoured vehicles and Hilux Vans, barricaded the entrance of the popular Unity Fountain in Abuja, the convergence point of the union members.
The two unions had converged to protest the federal government’s refusal to pay their withheld four months salaries owed its members.
The protest was being led by the President of SSANU, Mohammed Aruna Ibrahim, and General Secretary of NASU, Comrade Peters Adeyemi.
Both unions are aggrieved that despite a directive by the President that the four months arrears be paid, only members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) got paid, leaving out SSANU and NASU members.
Meanwhile, the NASU General-Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, while addressing journalists at the Unity Fountain, expressed shock that the union members were barred from embarking on the street demonstrations despite informing appropriate authorities about the planned protest.
The protest was part of a broader wave of demonstrations that started last week Tuesday across the States and FCT by both NASU and SSANU, to voice their grievances over withheld salaries by the Federal Government.
Recall that in March 2022, the unions embarked on a four months strike due to the government’s failure to honour multiple agreements.
However, in 2023, President Bola Tinubu directed the payment of their withheld salaries and exclusion of universities from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) platform.
Nine months after the presidential directives, the unions accused the Federal Government of selective payment of withheld salaries by excluding their members.
Meanwhile, Upah in the statement condemned the police’s actions as an affront to the 1999 Constitution, ILO Conventions 87 and 98, and the African Charter on People and Human Rights, all of which guarantee freedom of association and speech.
Upah emphasized that the Supreme Court has ruled that citizens do not need police permits to hold peaceful protests.
He decried the behavior of the police as an insult to law-abiding citizens and a violation of their dignity, even as he asserted that the actions of Commissioner Igweh were intended to intimidate workers but vowed that the NLC would not be cowed.
“We fought for this democracy and we will not fold our hands and allow intestinal-minded people to destroy it,” Upah stated.
He criticized Igweh for failing to inspire a new generation of officers away from colonial-era policing tactics and for targeting peaceful protesters instead of addressing the real security issues in Abuja.
The NLC official highlighted the irony of the situation, noting that while law-abiding citizens face harassment, Abuja remains overrun with bandits and criminals.
Upah pointed out that one of Igweh’s predecessors, now a Deputy Inspector General of Police, had successfully reduced crime in the city while maintaining good relations with citizens.
Speaking further, Upah accused the government of taking the unions’ maturity and patience for granted and warned that this negligence was jeopardizing tranquility in the university education sector.
He questioned the moral authority of a government that breaks the law to expect compliance from others.
In response to the police actions, Upah demanded an immediate apology to NASU and SSANU members. He also called for the immediate payment of the withheld salaries, reminding the government of previous communications and press statements on the matter.
Upah concluded by warning that if the government continued to ignore their demands, it would be courting a major national industrial protest.
“The reason for the peaceful protest by NASU and SSANU is very much in the public domain——non-payment of their four-months withheld salaries after workers in other unions were paid for the same strike action.
“The two unions had exhausted all means lawful over a long stretch of time including a warning strike as means for getting their salaries paid.
“But clearly, government took their maturity and patience for granted. What government failed to realise was that it was not only imperilling the tranquillity in the university education environment, it was acting in violation of the constitution which says no citizen should be discriminated against!
“If government and the police are proud law breakers, what moral justification do they have to expect others to be of good behaviour!
“In light of this, we demand an immediate police apology to NASU and SSANU members whom they violated.
“We also demand the immediate payment of the withheld salaries. We had had cause to write to government as well as issued a press statement on this matter in the recent past.
“Government will be courting a major national industrial protest if it continues to ignore our wise counsel.”
