Police Foil ASUU Strike Rally InOndo

A rally by the Adekunle Ajasin University Akungba Akoko chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) was today foiled by police.Some hours to the commencement of the rally, officers of the Anti-crime unit, Ikare Division, arrived at the venue and blocked the university’s main gate with their vehicles. It was unclear why a rally would be considered a crime.The union had planned to begin the rally inside the school and proceed to the outside gate of the Town Campus.Several pleas by the striking union with the police fell on deaf ears, and members of the union embarked on solidarity songs.Journalists who arrived to cover therally were hindered in the performance of their duty by the police.Speaking at the rally, an ASUU representative, Mr. Busuyi Mekusi said the rally was organized to enable the union to register its displeasure over the refusal of the federal government to implement the 2009 agreement it entered into with ASUU.He noted that lecturers were tired of being party to producing graduates who cannot hold their own because their training and education does not measure up to standard."It is very unfortunate that our rights are abridged. The strike is in the interest of our education in Nigeria particularly in the interest of students who study under inhumane conditions".He said people should shun misinformation over the protest, stressing that ASUU is only fighting for the rejuvenation of university education in the country.Mekun further said members of theunion will not relent in their struggle, and promised to join their counterparts in other institutions inthe solidarity strike.