The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) Senate meeting was going on peacefully until some workers stormed the venue, protesting the alleged non-payment of their allowances. The protesters allegedly manhandled some members of the Senate, but the school says there is no cause for alarm, as the issues are being resolved, reports WALE AJETUNMOBI.
Barely two months after Prof Anthony Elujoba assumed office as the Acting Vice-Chancellor (VC) of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State, the honeymoon between him and the workers seems over. Another crisis has erupted between management and the workers’ unions over unpaid salary arrears and allowances.
Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), it was learnt, disrupted the last OAU Senate meeting because of the VC’s alleged failure to pay the allowances.
A source said some members of the workers’ union threatened Prof Elujoba’s life, an allegation the NASU chairman, Wole Odewumi, denied.
The school’s spokesman, Abiodun Olanrewaju, said no one threatened the VC’s life when the meeting was disrupted. He, however, said some of the workers were unruly, adding that they “manhandled” some members of the Senate.
Prof Elujoba’s appointment as Acting VC on July 21 was greeted with spontaneous celebrations. Workers and students trooped out in a carnival-like procession round the campus immediately the announcement was made.
In academic circles, the celebration indicated acceptance of the new OAU helmsman. Elujoba’s appointment came after months of controversy over the selection of a substantive VC, which pitted the university workers against the Governing Council.
A member of the Senate told CAMPUSLIFE that SSANU and NASU members had initially threatened to deal with the Bursar, Mrs Josephine Akeredolu, during a management meeting held on August 29. CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Mrs Akeredolu was sent on compulsory leave for her safety.
At the meeting, it was gathered, the VC was allegedly forced to sign a document, promising to pay 10 months arrears of the second tranche of earned allowances codenamed “Productivity Allowance”.
The Acting VC, CAMPSULIFE learnt, told the workers’ unions that paying the allowances from the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) would violate the Federal Government’s directive, which prohibits higher institutions from disbursing their IGR and investment funds to pay emoluments.
CAMPUSLIFE gathered that Prof Elujoba explained to the Senate members that the government had not released the second tranche of the earned allowances to the university, saying he had verified from the school’s banks to know whether the funds had been remitted to pay the allowances.
The demand for payment of the earned allowances led to a protracted crisis between the unions and the immediate past VC, Prof Bamitale Omole.
Speaking to our correspondent on telephone, Olanrewaju said: “It is not correct that anybody threatened to attack the VC. That is not the true picture of what transpired at the last Senate meeting. The VC addressed members of the union when some of them became unruly, because they learnt that the Bursar was at the meeting, which I also personally attended.
“It was the VC that called the unions’ leaders to sort out the salary issues of members of staff school of the university. So, that was the purpose and primary aim of the meeting. The members of the unions came and felt they should raise concern about their earned allowances because of the presence of the Bursar at the meeting.
“They felt everything would be sorted out there. So, they started singing and chanting. Some of them also believed it was an opportunity for the Bursar to tell the VC where the money of the university is being kept. They held virtually everyone at the meeting hostage, but they did not touch the VC. Some people were manhandled. But, nobody threatened the VC.”
On the alleged compulsory leave of the Bursar, the spokesman said: “Mrs Akeredolu requested to go on leave because she had some accumulated leave she had not observed. It has nothing to do with threat to her life.”
At the time of this report, there was palpable fear in the school as SSANU and NASU vowed not to back down on their demands. For peace to reign, the unions listed four demands that the acting VC must meet.
The demands included stopping and returning of pension deductions, implementation of two-step salary differential for teaching staff, payment of 15 per cent outstanding salary arrears, and payment of earned allowances, hazard, excess workload and overtime.
It remained unclear how the management would meet the workers’ demand, but a highly-placed source said Prof Elujoba was considering the payment of the workers’ allowances in violation of the government’s directive if only to allow peace to reign.
Denying that the unions disrupted the Senate meetings, Odewumi told CAMPUSLIFE on telephone “Who told you we disrupted the Senate meeting? There was nothing like that. The acting VC has set up a task force on the unpaid allowances and we are still working on it. We met with the task force members last Friday and the meeting was postponed to Wednesday (yesterday).
“If it was not for the Sallah holiday, we would have concluded the meeting last Monday. But, by Friday (tomorrow), everything would be okay. I can confirm to you that there is no crisis in OAU, at least for now.”
Odewumi also said it was not true that the unions forced the Acting VC to sign a document to pay the earned allowances. “As I said earlier, there is no truth in the rumour. We will not force anyone to pay our lawful allowances. The last meeting we held with the VC went smoothly and I have the report of the meeting,” he said.
