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| Students protesting in Lagos Monday against the continuing strike by ASUP |
Hundreds of university, polytechnic and College of Education students Monday, continued their protest against the ongoing strike by Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) at Gani Park in Ojota, Lagos, southwest Nigeria.
The protest was led by National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) Zone D, Coordinator, Com. Asefon Sunday, who said the reason they have brought the protest to the park is to identify with the spirit of the late human rights activist and lawyer, Gani Fawehinmi, SAN, who was an untiring advocate of the rights of the common man.
“Gani is a symbol of struggle in this country, so we identified with him by coming here. He fought so many battles in his life time to ensure that the commoners have a say. Here is just a meeting point, we would hold the Lagos State Government and Federal Government to ransom until our demands are met,” Asefon said.
He said the main reason the students movement took action is to make the Federal Government know that students who have spent over 8 months at home are tired and want to get back to class.
Asefon implored the Federal Government to implement the agreements they had with ASUP and COEASU in the interest of the students rather than spending bogus amount on a national conference where majority sleep over serious issue.
He called on Lagos State Government to reverse the tuition fee Lagos State University, LASU, now cahrges as it is against the principles and ideas of the founding fathers of the institution.
“LASU is a public university. The high tuition fees is against tthe principles that brought the public school into existence. It negates the ideas of the founding fathers. Lagos State Government should immediately reverse the fee hike,” he said.
In pamphlets distributed to motorists, NANS called on Lagos State Governor, Babatunde Raji Fashola, to immediately reverse the hiked LASU fees to the barest minimum and that the Federal Government should honour the 2010 agreement entered with COEASU and ASUP.
The students’ demands also include the conversion of Higher National Diploma (HND) to Bachelor of Technology (B.Tech), 26% budgetary allocation to education as recommended by UNESCO and immediate removal of Supervising Minister of Education, Nyesom Wike, amongst other demands.
The National Coordinator, Education Rights Campaign (ERC), Hassan Soweto, who spoke with P.M.NEWS, said the group is fully in support of the action of the students.
“We fully support the initiative of NANS Zone D to organise this protest. We support the demands for the implementation of agreements with ASUP and COEASU and reversal of LASU school fees,” he said
He noted that the students movement would not relent in its call for the reversal of the school fees until its demands are fully met.
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