Estimated reading time: 5 minute(s)
Misturah Olatunji
Commuters were on Thursday stranded on Ibadan-Ife Expressway when members of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) stormed the highway to protest against the ongoing strike by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The students had earlier blocked the Lagos-Ibadan expressway to show their grievances.
The Minister of Works and Housing, Babatunde Fashola in his reaction to the protest maintained that blocking road during protest is violation of the country’s law.
“The right to protest is a very well-protected right in our constitution, but it does not include the right to inflict pain and inconvenience on other people. And so, whilst the protests can go on, they should refrain from blocking the road in order to do their protests. That in itself is a violation of law.”
But the students’ body shunned the Federal Government advice and re-mobilized its members back to the road which resulted to another gridlock.
Travellers on the Gbongan-Ibadan expressway were left stranded for many hours when the students blocked the road in protest against the lingering strike.
The NANS National Vice President for External Affairs, Akinteye Afeez, said the protest on the expressway was to let the federal government know that students were not happy with the ongoing strike.
Afeez, who said that the protest was just a preamble of what to come, said the association would continue to occupy the major expressways until the strike is called off.
“As we speak, the strike is having serious effects on us and we are not happy about it.
“This is just a preamble because we are taking the protest gradually until the strike is called off.
”We started the protest in Sango-Ota, then to the toll gate in Ibadan and today we are in Gbongan.
“This is just a warning, We are tired of staying at home and we want an urgent solution to the strike”, he said.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s)
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