Taxi drivers in Calabar, the Cross River capital, have expressed concern over low patronage of passengers due to the on-going strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
They said this in separate interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria in Calabar on Thursday.
The President of the Taxi Drivers Association, Patrick Okon, said that taxi business in Calabar was no longer profitable due to the strike.
"Students are our major passengers, but due to the ASUU strike, business is no longer moving," he said.
He appealed to ASUU to suspend its strike in the interest of the students and the economy.
The Secretary of the Association, Edem Edem, said most taxi drivers in the state obtained loans to buy their vehicles. He said that since passengers were no longer patronising them, repayment of the loans would not be easy.
"'I use to make a profit of N7, 000 per day, but, I hardly make N3, 000 now due to the strike," he said.
Another driver, Anthony Okoh, criticised the strike, saying it had brought down the growth of the country's education sector.
He appealed to ASUU and the Federal Government to engage in meaningful dialogue to end the strike.
As a result of the strike, economic activities within the vicinity of the University of Calabar (UNICAL), and Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) have drastically reduced.
The strike by the university lecturers is in its seventh week with the lecturers insisting the nationwide strike will not be called off unless the government implements a 2009 agreement it had with their union.
