• Union alleges VC using security agencies to intimidate members
• Strike puts UI into darkness
The management of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), yesterday, accused the striking Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) of complicity in the death a student of the institution who was asthmatic and could not immediately get medical care due to ongoing strike that put the university clinic under lock and key.
The management of the institution noted that some universities did not shut down like FUOYE, saying that based on false information given to the national leadership of the union by the local chapter, the institution was invaded on Monday by hoodlums and shut it down.
Deputy Vice Chancellor (Administration), Prof. Tajudeen Opoola, who led other top principal officers of the university to brief newsmen in Ado-Ekiti, warned that FUOYE management would no longer fold its arms and allow breakdown of law and order under the guise of strike.
“We lost a student this morning in FUOYE who had asthma because he could not be taken to our clinic as the facility is under lock and key. It is true that students are on holiday but not all of them are living on campus.
“This morning, I was in EKSU, the administrative block is wide open. People are going about their normal duties. I am using EKSU because it is the closest as far as this environment is concerned. In EKSU today, the clinic is functioning.
Total or comprehensive strike is not going on in EKSU. But the same leadership of EKSU SSANU went on air yesterday to incite the public and even led some hoodlums to invade our school based on a false narrative he was fed with by chairman of FUOYE SSANU.
“Our own chairman was the one who gave false information to the National President. Since he gave the impression that he had been beaten and harassed, the national president allegedly directed that the leadership of their union in Ondo, Osun and Kwara should proceed to FUOYE to rescue the chairman. It is that immunity that the EKSU chairperson used. But we hope he won’t misuse the immunity.
“As a university, we are established by law, and we have our own autonomy. We know when we can say stop. We are not going to deal with him, but the law will deal with the situation as appropriate. The university is not going to fold arms and allow anybody in whatever name or any union to come and occupy our place. We have a way of dealing with such. Nobody is above the law.
Meanwhile, in his reaction to the allegations by the management, the FUOYE SSANU Chairman, Oluwaseun Faleye, accused the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Sunday Fasina, of intimidating the leadership of the union because they refused to grant the school concession.
“I think you are aware of the national directive of our union for all the branches to embark on a seven-day strike starting from March 18. Even before now, we have evidence of our correspondence with the management notifying them of the strike. They felt they could impose concessions on us that we must give concessions and not follow the national directive.
“On Friday, they invited us to a meeting asking us to give concessions. We told them no. They sent a written letter soliciting concessions to exempt the health centre, register others, but the circular from the national leadership of our union warned against granting such concession. We had privileged information that the Vice Chancellor is trying to use security to intimidate us.
“Between Wednesday and Friday last week, the DSS Director, the Commissioner of Police invited us, and we feel that this kind of intimidation is a national strike. Why would they invite us when it is a national strike? We felt we were not safe. On getting to the school gate, we met armed civil defence officers. I was assaulted; it is the management that is using the security agencies to intimidate us.”
HOWEVER, the University of Ibadan (UI) has been plunged into total darkness following the non-teaching staff unions’ strike.
Chairman of UI SSANU, RasakOmisore, who spoke with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), yesterday, on the effect of the strike, said the union was forced to down tools to press home their demands.
He said their agitations included unpaid four months’ salaries and funding of the universities, both at the federal and state levels.
Omisore added that there would be no meaningful development in Nigeria if the funding of education took the back seat.
