National Market Women Protest ASUU Strike At N-Assembly

Chat 212 - News Summary...

• National Market Women Association stormed the National Assembly, demanding that the ASUU, call off its more than three months old strike.
• Mrs Felicia Sani who led the the protest said We are tired of seeing our children at home. We want our children back in school. Enough of this cheap blackmail.

Chat 212 - Newsmail Report...

PROTESTING traders, under the aegis of National Market Women Association, Monday, stormed the National Assembly, demanding that the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, call off its more than three months old strike.

The protesters, who had been at the Ministry of Education and Office of the Head of Service, arrived the Assembly complex at 11.30a.m.

Market women and Men Association of Nigeria protesting over the prolong ASUU strike in Federal Secretariat, Abuja yesterday . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan

Market women and Men Association of Nigeria protesting over the prolong ASUU strike in Federal Secretariat, Abuja Monday . Photo by Gbemiga Olamikan

President-General of the group, Mrs Felicia Sani, who led the more than 200 protesting women, said: “We are tired of seeing our children at home. We want our children back in school. Enough of this cheap blackmail.

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“We all know what they do with our year-one daughters in the university. We equally know that they sell handouts and handbooks.

“Is this not worse than corruption of the highest order?”

On FG/ASUU agreement

Asked why she did not criticise the Federal Government for failing to reach an agreement with ASUU, Mrs Sani said: “Which agreement? How do you expect lecturers in state universities to earn same salaries as Federal ones? That is impossible.

“We are not educated, but you do not expect a hotel in my village to cost same price as a hotel in Abuja.

“They are located in different places. So how can a state university lecturer earn same salary with his federal counterpart?

“We are begging them for the last time. If we come out again we may have to chase them out of this country and replace them with so many jobless Nigerians.”