Voter Registration: Kaduna Govt Declares Three-Day Holiday
The Kaduna State Government has declared a three-day public holiday to enable more citizens to complete their voter registration.
This was contained in a statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Nasir El-Rufai on Media and Communication, Muyiwa Adekeye, on Tuesday, saying the holiday is from July 27 to 29th.
He said the move is necessary so that more Kaduna electorates will be able to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards and participate in the 2023 general elections.
READ ALSO: NLC Holds Nationwide Protest Over University Unions Strike
While urging all eligible residents of the state to seize this window to register to vote and to therefore be in a position to exercise their right to vote, Adekeye disclosed that the government requests all employers to actively support their staff to register before INEC closes voter registration on July 31.
Meanwhile, university students in Kaduna State have joined the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) in a solidarity protest with the University Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
ASUU on February 14 embarked on industrial action to press home their demands for better welfare of members, revamping of the nation’s education sector, and implementation of the 2009 agreement among several others.
However, the labour unions decided to embark on a solidarity protest nationwide on Tuesday to compel the Federal Government to address the issues raised by the striking lecturers.
Over 40 affiliate unions of the NLC including student unions joined in the peaceful protest held in the Kaduna state capital amid tight security.
Most university students sang solidarity songs and carried placards with various inscriptions like ‘Universities is a shame, sign the draft agreement to end the strike,’ ‘End ASUU strike now,’ ‘Better condition of service is necessary, a pay rise is long overdue,’ etc.
Addressing journalists in Kaduna, ASUU Chairman of Kaduna State University, Dr. Silas Amos, said the protest is in compliance with the resolution of the Congress which represents the first in the series of actions the NLC intends to take to compel the government to do the needful.
“We are here today because the academic staff as members of trade unions. Because we are members of a trade union, the main organ responsible for trade unionism in Nigeria is the Nigerian Labour Congress,” he said.
Amos accused the Federal Government of being insincere and non-committed to the implementation of the agreement it reached with ASUU in 2009, lamenting that the strike has come at a huge cost to the students, the university staff, parents and other stakeholders in the education sector.
