EKSU ASUU extends strike action over lecturers welfare

The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities, Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, Dr Kayode Arogundade, said on Thursday that the humongous arrears of salaries and allowances being owed lecturers in the institution had pushed them to the walls, necessitating total total strike action.

Arogundade, who said there was a need for the university stakeholders to sit down and fashion ways out of the woods to avert calamity in the institution, also called on the alumni association to live by what they promised while canvassing support for the governor, Biodun Oyebanji, an alumnus, during electioneering.

The ASUU chairman, who spoke in Ado Ekiti after the congress of the union, said that the lecturers had given the state government till January 17 to bring together critical stakeholders “to sit down, discuss and tell us how they will defray what we are being owed”.

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Speaking on the decision at the congress, the ASUU leader said, “After a thorough evaluation of the New Year message of the governor, who incidentally is an alumnus, members have appealed that on the honour of Mr Governor and the strength of his message, we should just give one more week, so that by January 17, we will reconvene to take a decision.

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“Something drastic must happen in this university, otherwise, the institution will become history. We remain steadfast to the January 17 date when a decision will be made, but I can assure you that we cannot be hungry and decide to go to work on an empty stomach.”

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Arogundade said, “In late December, we were paid 50 per cent of August 2022 salary; we have 12 months half salary outstanding between 2016 and 2018; in 2018, we have full three months outstanding; we are owed unremitted cooperative deductions; while our retired members are being owed 36 months pension deduction. We have been made so poor and dehumanised as academics.

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“We know what the governor inherited, but we want somebody to sit down with us and tell us how these things will be defrayed. It should be on record that the N260 million monthly subvention can no longer sustain this university. Our school fees can only augment salaries for only five months.

Oyebanji had on Tuesday during the New Year Prayer and Thanksgiving programme organised by the state government, appealed to EKSU workers’ unions against industrial action, saying, “Threats of strikes will not solve any problem. We recognize the fact that there are issues, and we promised that we are going to deal with these issues. We are committed, government needs time to resolve the issues.”