By our Reporter
Students, in their tens had blocked the main road linking the airport to Ikeja and Apapa-Osodi areas of the city as many commuters, including those travelling abroad through the Murtala Muhammed International Airport (MMIA), Lagos, were on Monday morning stranded.
At the scene of the protest are also police officers who wielded batons but maintained some distance from the protesters as they tried to ensure that the situation did not degenerate.
The protesters, under the umbrella of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) have vowed to remain on the road until the Nigerian government and the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) reach a middle ground and academic activities resume on their campuses.
It is already more than seven months that ASUU commenced its strike, which it has declared indefinite following the failure of the two parties to reach a compromise on the union’s demands.
ASUU has demanded the replacement of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) as salary payment platform with the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) which its members developed.
ASUU said rather than ensuring accountability, IPPIS has enabled fraud in the system and that it failed to accommodate the peculiarities of the university system.
The union is also requesting the release of revitilisation fund for the universities as contained in the earlier agreements signed with the government, and the release of its members-earned academic allowance, among others.
The protesters defied the early morning rain in Lagos on Monday and assembled on the main road leading to the airport and just after the toll gates.
They used their vehicles to barricade the road obstructing those driving towards the airport.
Many workers and travellers were forced to trek long distances to access the airport as the protesters continued to sing and dance in circles while officers of the Rapid Response Squad (RRS) of the Nigerian Police in the state were seen seen on standby.