YABATECH Students, ERC Protest Over Lingering ASUP Strike

YABATECH Students, ERC Protest Over Lingering ASUP Strike:

A cross section of students of Yaba College of Technology and members of Education Right Campaign (ERC) yesterday protested  the prolonged strike action embarked upon by public polytechnic lecturers.

The students  took to the streets of Lagos yesterday to register their grievances on the ongoing Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) industrial action, and  called on federal government to intervene as a matter of urgency.

The protest, which commenced at Yaba and ended at Maryland, is meant to give support to the polytechnic students who have been at home since October 2013.

Disrupting traffic at Yaba, and Onipanu areas of Lagos, the students said they were out to express their grievances over their neglect by the federal government.

While speaking with LEADERSHIP, the ERC deputy coordinator, Lateef Adams said, “We join the students to protest in order to compel federal government to end ASUP strike and reach agreement with the lecturers”.

Other students who spoke with LEADERSHIP added, “They are toying with our future. Since nobody is speaking for us, we have decided to speak for ourselves.

“We should not be spending more time than we are supposed to spend in school. We want our voices to be heard and something done urgently concerning our plight.”

The students chanted various protest songs and chorused, “We are tired of going to the clubs, watching movies, and sleeping at home.”

Addressing the students,  chairman Yaba local council development area, Hon Jide Jimoh charged the federal government to learn from  All Progressives Congress (APC) led governments in the south-west on how to embark on massive youth development.

The chairman represented by the secretary to the council, Hon Doyin Rojaye blamed federal government over lack of youth development in the country.

“What we are experiencing now is corruption and insecurity which is not adding value to the development of the country,” he said. (Leadership)