The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) at the Ken Saro-Wiwa Polytechnics at Bori, Rivers State, has urged Governor Nyesom Wike to direct the Ministry of Education to release the contributing funds of the polytechnic’s academic workers.
The institution’s ASUP Chairman Ferry Gberegbe, who just returned from a national meeting of the union, said the union would not borrow money to bury colleagues, attend zonal and national meetings.
The union leader said the state government, since February, had withheld members’ contributory funds for various purposes, including deductions of their cooperative contributions.
He said ASUP borrowed money to bury two of its members, who died recently, adding that the government had not fulfilled its obligation to honour some of the union members, who retired since February.
Gberegbe accused the government of attempting to destabilise the union’s effectiveness.
The union leader noted that since the governor cleared the backlog of salaries, he should also assist the union to release its funds.
He said: “We request that the governor should release our check-off dues, levies for the burial of Dr. Vincent Eebee, and the late P. Z. Porokpege as well as the contributions for retirement envelopes for Mr. Dimkpa Adiele and Rev. Eretoru. I think we don’t need to beg for these.
“Government is crippling the union by holding to our dues. This is unacceptable. The union cannot continue to borrow money to attend zonal and national meetings, including other important activities, when the fund has been contributed by our workers.”
On the outcome of the national meeting, Gberegbe said the union’s national body had given an order to sustain the mobilisation for a strike over discrepancies between the Higher National Diploma (HND) and the Bachelor of Science (BSc), non-payment of salaries, allowances to polytechnics and others issues affecting polytechnics in the land.