UNILAG Students and Lecturers Unite Against Government's Inaction
On Thursday, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), joined by students, staged a protest against the Federal Government's failure to address nine long-standing demands. Students supported their lecturers by carrying placards with messages such as: "Education is the key to life", "University education funding is non-negotiable", "Lecturers deserve fair compensation for shaping professions", and "Stop establishing universities without adequate funding".
The protesters marched from Julius Berger Hall to the UNILAG gate and back to the ASUU-UNILAG Secretariat, singing unity songs and distributing handbills outlining their nine demands. These demands include the conclusion of FGN/ASUU agreement renegotiation, implementation of Nimi Briggs Committee's 2021 draft agreement, release of withheld salaries and outstanding deductions, funding for public university revitalization, Earned Academic Allowances, halt to proliferation of universities by Federal and State Governments, implementation of visitation panel reports, and University Transparency and Accountability Solutions (instead of IPPIS).
Prof. Kayode Adebayo, ASUU-UNILAG Chairman, emphasized that the protest aims to raise public awareness about the government's inaction on their demands, which he termed "insensitive and silent".