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Tag: ASUU

  • Relief as LASU re-issues ASUU chair’s PhD certificate

    Following the re-issuance of the PhD certificate of the chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos State University (LASU) chapter, Adekunle Idris, last Thursday, the union has called on the governing council of the university to investigate other issues that occurred under the administration of Prof John Obafunwa as vice chancellor.

    Idris’ certificate was re-issued by the 10th Governing Council of LASU led by Prof Adebayo Ninalowo and now reads PhD in “Business Administration” and not “Business Administration (Marketing)”.

    The re-issued certificates of Idris and another academic, Mufutau Yussuf, were signed by the Acting Vice Chancellor, Prof Fidelis Njokama.

    Lamenting his ordeal, at a press briefing on Monday, Idris recalled the psychological torture he went through fighting for the reissuance of his certificate. He also spoke of plans to claim damages from the university.

    At the briefing, the leadership of the union praised the new Council for immediately rising to the task of addressing numerous crises rocking the 32 year-old institution

    It called for the public announcements of a report by all the unions on the alleged excesses of Obafunwa and the Registrar, Mr Akinwunmi Lewis, regarding appointments and promotions of some staff under previous administration.

    ASUU also called on the Lagos State Governor, Akinwunmi Ambode, to fulfill his promise to replace three vehicles owned by the Non Academic Staff Unions (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), damaged during the March 16 crisis in which workers forced Obafunwa out of the campus.

    In choosing a new vice chancellor, ASUU appealed to the Council to select someone with empathy, and a scholar of note.

    The union however noted that the government should clear outstanding salary increase arrears since 2010; promotion of staff, as well as the full adoption of Universities Miscellaneous Provisions Act, among others.

    “The news of an executive Bill before the Lagos State House of Assembly to amend the LASU law 2004 to incorporate a single term of five years for the vice chancellor is a good omen. The Visitor has by this action demonstrated that he has the political will to take LASU to the Promised Land. However, we advised that the Universities Miscellaneous Provisions Act should be wholly adopted by Lagos State. The Act stipulates 70 and 65 years retirement ages for academic staff in the professorial cadre and non academic staff respectively, a single term of five years for all principal officers and greater powers for the Governing Council.”

  • SUG aspirants unfold manifestoes at ASUU debate

    The local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has organised a debate for Students’ Union Government (SUG) aspirants. The event, which was put together by Students, Labour and Mobilisation (SLM) Committee of ASUU, gave the aspirants opportunities to intimate students of their programmes should they be elected.

    The debate was witnessed by the ASUU chairman, Dr Adelaja Odukoye, Dean of Students’ Affair, Prof Tunde Babawale, and a lecturer at the Department of Political Science, Dr Lara Quardri.

    The event started with one-minute silence in honour of the late Oluchi Anekwe, a 300-Level Accounting student, who was electrocuted recently on the campus.

    In his address, Dr Odukoya said students must exercise their rights in determining their leader and set agenda for the people that lead them. Prof Babawale, in his remark, hailed the organisers, saying the event gave students an opportunity to study their colleagues who wanted to lead them.

    The debaters were called out one after the other, starting with students vying for Sport Secretary. Each aspirant enthralled the audience with their manifestoes. The presidential hopefuls had hectic time with members of the audience, who hurled a barrage of questions bordering on welfare, cultism and ideology at the aspirants.

    The closing remark was given by ASUU chairman.

     

  • ASUU to govt: set up Visitation Panel

    ASUU to govt: set up Visitation Panel

    •’We shut LASU gates to draw govt’s attention’

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has called on Lagos State Governor Akinwunmi Ambode to set up a Visitation Panel in the Lagos State University (LASU).

    The union said a panel was the antidote to the myriad of problems facing the institution. ASUU also  recommended the implementation of the Universities Miscellaneous Act of 2012, to put the 31-year-old institution on the right path.

    •Prof Obafunwa
    •Prof Obafunwa

    At a briefing on the university’s premises in Ojo Lagos, Chairman, ASUU Lagos Zone, Dr Adesola Nasir, said following the above recommendations, Ambode should also constitute a Governing Council to appoint a successor to the Vice Chancellor, Prof John Oladapo Obafunwa.

    He said Obafunwa being pelted with objects and chased out of the institution by aggrieved workers on Monday, March 16, and prevented from entering, meant he was no longer accepted by the various unions.

    Nasir said: “As ASUU, we are not proud when a whole vice chancellor was pelted with sachet water by workers. It shows such a vice chancellor has lost all forms of respect from the community he is supposed to govern. When this happen, the best for such vice chancellor is to resign honourably.Obafunwa’s line of thought does not agree with the people and things have degenerated to a level where he can no longer enter his office.”

    He said no matter how deep a crisis is, an ideal vice chancellor must   reconcile warring parties through dialogue and cross fertilisation of ideas, noting that Obafunwa has failed to achieve both.

    According to Nasir, the allegation by workers against Obafunwa, including the latter’s victimisation and non-promotion of workers, setting up of illegal Budget Monitoring Committee to access the Federal Government intervention fund, victimisation of union heads, inappropriate appointment of underserving staff who are Obafunwa’s cronies as well as using media to disparage workers, among others, are documented in two volumes submitted to government by ASUU LASU, who now awaits its decision.

    ASUU lamented that industrial crisis in the university is getting out of hand; hence the union’s intervention to end it for good.

    “What we expect from Obafunwa whenever he grants interview in the media is to tell us his achievements in terms of grants that his administration has attracted to the university, the number of Ph.D awardees, and how he has consolidated on the university’s internally generated revenue. But to our disappointment, he keeps painting workers in black. Sincerely, we are all tired of anybody saying: ‘LASU is this or that.’ LASU has had enough problems. All we want are the strides and not pronouncements that would foment more trouble,” ASUU further stated.

    ASUU said the union is informed of secret moves by Obafunwa to use some students outside the university to puncture the peace that has since returned.

    “Our union is not unaware of some clandestine moves to unleash some ill informed students group mainly from outside LASU to foment additional crisis in the university. Our union wishes to advice our students, who are our ally in the restoration of dignity of LASU to focus on their studies as our members are doing all within their means to ensure a smooth session. Exams have been concluded and scripts marked,” ASUU counselled.

    Chairman, ASUU-LASU Adekunle Idris, said against misconceptions in certain quarters, the union is in understanding with the LASU Students’ Union, noting that when the struggle is eventually won, it is the students that stand to reap the greatest dividend.

    Meanwhile, LASU Students’ Union has called on Ambode to get the university on full swing with respect to academic activities.

    LASUSU PRO, Adebanjo Fatai told our reporter on phone that LASUSU was not interested on whether Obafunwa returns to LASU or not, noting that it is a staff/management affair. Another condition, Fatai stated, was that no leader of the union should be victimised for his or her role in the ongoing crisis.

    Fatai said prevention of vehicular movement in and out of the university premises by students on Thursday, last week, was to draw government’s attention to their plight.

    “Immediately government heard that we had locked up the two gates of the university, Deputy Governor Dr( Idiat) Adebule had to call and appealed to us on phone.”

    He continued: “It is so sad that this is what we had to do (protest) to get government’s attention. Ahead of the protest, we had sent a letter which we copied to the governor, his deputy, Ministry of Education, and all unions in LASU as well as stakeholders in the state for quick intervention, to no avail.

    “You will also recall that before we commenced the (first semester) exam, we had made repeated appeals to the government but with no result until we eventually stormed the Governor’s Office in Alausa in a protest, before we could be answered.”

     

  • Rumpus in KWASU over proposed ASUU

    Rumpus in KWASU over proposed ASUU

    Teachers at the five-year -ld Kwara State University (KWASU), Malete and the management are set for a showdown over the former’s plan to form KWASU’s chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    Members of the academic staff hasve inaugurated KWASU’s ASUU caretaker committee, preparatory to the formation of the union.

    The chairman and secretary of the caretaker committee are: Dr Dauda Adeshola and Dr Shehu Abdul-Ganiyu Salau.

    But the management has described any form of unionism on campus without its consent as illegal.

    Adeshola, shortly after his inauguration, urged members to be resolute in their determination to bargain for better conditions of service. He assured that the proposed association would not contravene laid down rules and regulation.

    Interestingly, the caretaker committee had informed the management of the inauguration of KWASU-ASUU. A letter dated August 17th, 2015 and signed by Adeshola stated thus: “This is to officially inform the university management and the academic community that ASUU, KWASU chapter was officially inaugurated on Thursday the 13th of August, 2015 where a caretaker committee was set up for the take-off.”

    The letter entitled: “Inauguration of ASUU, KWASU chapter,” was addressed to the registrar.

    “We pledge the loyalty of the union to the university authorities and the government of Kwara State. Kwara State University established in 2009, is now about to witness union activities after the five-year waiting period stipulated by both the National Universities Commission (NUC) and KWASU conditions of Service and Regulations,” the letter added.

    A circular by the principal/protocol officer, KWASU, Hamidat Yusuf, described the meetings that cumulated to the emergence of the caretaker committee as “illegal, cultic and combative unionism.”

    The circular reads: “This is to inform the university community that the management is aware of groups of KWASU staff holding clandestine meetings in odd venues in Malete in the name of cultism or combative unionism.

    “The university wishes to warn all concerned that this is illegal under KWASU rules and no nefarious clandestine group, no matter what name it disguised itself, will be recognised by the university. The university only recently attained five years of peaceful and purposeful academic calendar.

    “An acceptable legal unionism for students, academic and non academic staff will be ushered in within an open framework with active participation of management and all concerned. No amount of effort by the handful 17 staff that met outside the campus and held cultist meeting to create chaos in the school will succeed.

    “The police, office of the university safety and other security agencies have been put on alert to monitor these nefarious individuals and each of the 17 staff or any other who might be misguided is hereby warned.

    “A timetable will be published at appropriate time for peaceful unionism. Some gangs are obviously sad about the peaceful nature of KWASU in the face of national difficulties and seek to cause disaffection with government.”

    However, the Provost College of Information and Communication Technology, Prof Innocent Okoye expressed his happiness on the development.

    “For the first time, I am feeling that I am in a university. For once an issue of common interest is being discussed and people are taking sides based on their interests. It is very good for KWASU. So let the controversies continue; conflict is needed for change to take place.”

    The provost who said he was at the meeting from beginning to the end, protested that the meeting was not clandestine, having been convened with prior knowledge of the Nigeria police and national headquarters of ASUU.

    Also reacting, Head of Department (HOD), Aeronautics and Astronautics, Prof Chris Odetunde is disappointed that any peace-loving administration will address peaceful gathering as an illegal union.

    “If the administration enjoys controlling the going and coming of faculty, staff and students then it should change KWASU to Kwara state secondary school; KWASU is a citadel of learning for matured thoughts and cross pollination of ideas. Such circular needs to be retracted as it dislocates the peace on campus. It is unconscionable,” Odetunde added.

  • Row in KWASU over unionisation

    Row in KWASU over unionisation

    Authorities of the Kwara State University (KWASU) and academic staff are on collision course over plan to form the institution’s branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

    The academic staff recently inaugurated KWASU’s ASUU caretaker committee preparatory to the formation of full blown ASUU activities.

    The chairman of the caretaker committee is Dr. Dauda Adeshola while the secretary is Dr. Shehu AbdulGaniyu Salau.

    But management of the institution described any form of unionism in the school as illegal.

    Dr. Adeshola shortly after his inauguration urged members to be resolute in their determination to bargain for better conditions of service for members in the university.

    He assured that the association would not contravene laid down rules and regulation of the institution.

    The caretaker committee subsequently officially informed the management of the formal inauguration of KWASU ASUU.

    In letter dated August 17th, 2015 and signed by Dr. Adeshola said; “this is to officially inform the university management and the academic community that ASUU, KWASU chapter was officially inaugurated Thursday the 13th of August, 2015 where a caretaker committee was set up for the take-off.”

    The letter entitled: “Inauguration of ASUU, KWASU chapter,” was addressed to the school registrar.

    The letter added; “the inauguration which took place at E-place Plaza, Malete had five protem officers after a keenly contested election. They were elected to run the affairs of the union until a new exco is elected.

    “We pledge the loyalty of the union to the university authorities and the government of Kwara state. Kwara state University established in 2009 is now about to witness union activities after the five-year waiting period stipulated by both the National Universities Commission (NUC) and KWASU conditions of Service and Regulations.”

    In a circular by the Principal/Protocol Officer, KWASU, Hamidat Yusuf said that described the meetings that cumulated in the emergence of the caretaker committee as “illegal, cultic and combative unionism.”

    The circular reads: “This is to inform the university community that the management is aware of groups of KWASU staff holding clandestine meetings in odd venues in Malete in the name of cultism or combative unionism.

    “The university wishes to warn all concerned that this is illegal under KWASU rules and no nefarious clandestine group, no matter what name it disguised itself, will be recognized by the university. The university only recently attained five years of peaceful and purposeful academic calendar.

    “An acceptable legal unionism for students, academic and non academic staff will be ushered in within an open framework with active participation of management and all concerned. No amount of effort by the handful 17 staff that met outside the campus and held cultist meeting to create chaos in the school will succeed.

    “The police, office of the university safety and other security agencies have been put on alert to monitor these nefarious individuals and each of the 17 staff or any other that might be misguided is hereby warned.

    “A timetable will be published at appropriate time for peaceful unionism. Some gangs are obviously sad about the peaceful nature of KWASU in the face of national difficulties and seek to cause disaffection with government.”

  • JAMB succumbs to pressure

    JAMB succumbs to pressure

    •ASUU accuses board of compromise

    The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB), finally yielded to pressure by parents and candidates who are kicked against the Board’s directive to some candidates to write the post-Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME)  other than the universities of their first choices.

    The development followed wild jubilations in the streets of Akoka, Lagos by the Association of Tutorial School Operators who trooped to the streets.

    The new JAMB directive placed on some universities, including UNILAG, University of Ibadan, University of Ilorin and Imo State University, from conducting the post-UTME for any other candidates other than those recommended to them by the Board, has been provoking public outcry.

    JAMB PRO Mr. Fabian Benjamin, told The Nation that the Board decided to respect the the wishes by Nigerians as well as individual candidates, and would accord them the opportunity to fight for available slots.

    Benjamin said the redistribution of the candidates to other deprived universities would not stop, noting that affected candidates could as well write the post-UTME tests in their universities of first choice and still proceed to where they were redistributed to take part in their screening.

    He said: “JAMB as a responsible and responsive body wouldn’t have closed its ears against the cries of its candidates. But the redistribution still holds and the advantage is just that these candidates who have been redistributed have chances of writing post-UTME in two places.”

    Benjamin added that JAMB is only interested in ensuring that the candidates were offered admission, rather than wasting their high scores concentrating their efforts on an institution which might not work out eventually.

    Similarly, the National President of the Association of Tutorial School Operators, Mr. Oludotun Sodunke, who led the students to challenge the new policy in court, said the victory belonged to Nigerians and the responsiveness of a new government and the support by the media.

    Meanwhile, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has asked JAMB Registrar,  Prof Dibu Ojerinde to stop promoting a policy to favour private universities and exploit the poor.

    Chairman of ASUU University of Ibadan Chapter, Prof Segun Ajiboye, said JAMB’s relevance in Nigeria ends when universities started conducting their own post-UTME examinations.

    He stated the Senate of universities determines the type of students to admit within set of approved criteria open to all candidates.

    Ajiboye spoke on a television programme monitored in Ibadan on the recent policy of reallocation of candidates by JAMB.

    Ajiboye alleged that the JAMB boss  has been compromised by investors in private universities whom two percent of the applicants picked as preferred choice of institution.

    He said: “JAMB’s concept of ‘needy’ institutions needs deconstruction here. Needy universities are basically private universities in Nigeria who charge exorbitant fees with less than required manpower.

    In the 2015 UTME applications, 15,000 of the close to 1,436,837 million candidates sought admission into 48 private universities. Of these, Covenant, Babcock and Afe Babalola universities had 3, 144; 1,985 and 1, 247 applicants respectively.

    Others had below 600 applicants with some like Southwestern University, Well spring University and Kwararafa University having less than 10 candidates! If not doing the bidding of private universities, JAMB ought to be open with its policy from the point of sale of the forms. JAMB must tell us how many public universities are under-subscribed.”

  • ASUU kicks against admission policy

    ASUU kicks against admission policy

    THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in the University of Ibadan  has kicked against the policy of reassignment of candidates against their choices being adopted by the Joint Admission and Matriculation Board (JAMB).

    It said JAMB has made the admission process chaotic and exposed candidates to fraudsters, adding that the board must respect candidates’ preferences and choices for tertiary institutions and consider the security of lives of candidates, cost, proximity, quality, and rights of the Nigerian child in arriving at any policy.

    ASUU called on Nigerians to join in calling for the scrapping of JAMB, saying it has outlived its usefulness.

    Its chairman, Prof. Segun Ajiboye, described the policy as insensitive, exploitative of the children of the poor and abuse of their fundamental human rights of freedom of choice.

    The union lashed out at the Prof. Dibu Ojerinde-led JAMB Board for allegedly being insensitive to the plight of the masses, whose parents have not been paid for months by some governors, but are now being forced to pay N1,000 to know where they are reassigned against their choices.

    In the absence of a substantive minister of Education, the ASUU boss called on President Muhammadu Buhari to call JAMB to order so as not to make the children of the masses in public schools suffer.

    Calling on the President to probe the over N1 billion that would be generated from the purchase of scratch cards of what he called ‘unpopular policy’, Ajiboye berated the racket on the sale of scratch cards, which have been mopped up at JAMB offices by agents who now sell it for N1,500 to candidates.

    But JAMB explained that the policy to redistribute candidates to needy institutions was done to assist the candidates and their parents.

    It noted that the ASUU UI chapter’s claim that it was anti-poor was not untrue.

    It described the union’s claim that it would make about N1 billion as proceeds from candidates buying cards to check their redistribution status as unfounded.

    It said the checking of candidates’ names will be free.

  • ASUU to police: stop killing of lecturers

    ASUU to police: stop killing of lecturers

    Members of the Academic Staff Union of  Universities (ASUU), Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure, the Ondo State capital yesterday urged the police to put in place measures to stop the killing and kidnapping of lecturers.

    They spoke ahead of the funeral for the university’s late former Vice Chancellor, Prof. Albert Ilemobade.

    The ASUU Chairman, Dr. Bola Oniya, at a news conference at FUTA, lamented the high rates of killing and kidnapping of university lecturers.

    But the family of the late Ilemobade have fixed July 30 for the service and interment of the deceased at All Saints Anglican Church in Ogbonkowo, Ondo.

    A Christian wake will hold at Hall B, Oba Adesanoye Civil Centre, Ondo on July 29.

    Dr. Oniya said the association was recently faced with kidnappings, a situation which he said threatened their careers.

    He criticised the killing of a lecturer at Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Dr. Deji Adejobi, who, according to him, was murdered with his security guard. He added that the lecturer’s body was dumped at the back of his house.

    The ASUU chairman said members were afraid to use the union’s sticker on their cars due to the rampant kidnapping and killing of their colleagues.

    On the death of Ilemobade, Dr. Oniya said the union was following developments with interest and hoped that thorough investigations would be carried out by the police to unravel the cause of the death.

    The ASUU chairman urged Ondo State commissioner of Police to dig deep into the matter “for the sake of the future of our Ivory towers”.

    “Before this profession is turned into a jumble bird, we call on necessary authorities to step up security and surveillance routines that will decimate completely, these recent attacks on university teachers,” Dr. Oniya said. The suspected killers of Ilemobade – his security guard, Daniel Ita, and his former driver, Bamitale Yemi, have been arranged and ordered by the magistrate to be remanded in prison till September, 18.

  • ASUU to Police: stop killing of intellectuals

    ASUU to Police: stop killing of intellectuals

    Ahead of the funeral rites of late former Vice-Chancellor of Federal University of Technology (FUTA), Akure in Ondo State Prof. Albert Ilemobade, members of the institution Academic Staff Union of  Universities (ASUU) Wednesday charged Nigerian Police to put in place an intelligent measure that will stop killing and kidnapping of academicians.

    The academic union, who spoke through its Chairman, Dr. Bola Oniya at a press conference held at FUTA lamented over the high rates of killing and kidnapping of University lecturers across the country.

    Already, family members of late Ilemobade have fixed July 30, for the service and interment of the deceased at All Saints Anglican Church in Ogbonkowo, Ondo after a Christian wake keep at Hall B, Oba Adesanoye Civil Centre, Ondo on July 29.

    Oniya said they are bedeviled recently with flurry of kidnappings painting their career as threatened.

    He also lamented over yesterday killing of a lecturer of Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Dr. Deji Adejobi, who according to him was murdered with his security guard, while the lifeless body was dumped at the back of his house.

    The ASUU Chairman said members of the union are now afraid to use the sticker of the Association on their cars due to the rampant kidnapping and killing of their colleagues.

    On the death of Ilemobade, Oniya said the union is following developments with very keen interest and hopes that thorough investigations are carried out by the State Police department to unravel every detail that led to the brutal death of their former Vice Chancellor.

    “The Ondo State Commissioner of Police is thus nudged to dig deep and cross all the t’s and dot all the i’s for the sake of the future of our ivory towers.

    “Before this profession is turned into a jumble bird, we call on necessary authorizes to step up security and surveillance routines that will decimate completely, these recent attacks on University teachers”. Oniya said.

    Suspected killers of the Ilemobade, who were his security guard, Daniel Ita and his former Driver, Bamitale Yemi have been arranged and ordered by the Magistrate justice to be remanded in prison till September, 18.

     

  • ASUU hails UI ranking

    The Chairman of the University of Ibadan (UI) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), Prof. Olusegun Ajiboye, yesterday hailed the university for emerging No. 1 in Nigeria and eighth in Africa.

    Ajiboye said: “The ranking has placed University of Ibadan where it ought to be. This is due to the calibre of manpower at the institution.

    “It is the appropriate thing to do with the calibre of academic staff in the university. This ranking is not a surprise and it is long overdue. The institution will do better than that next year. We will be ranked among the best five next year and very soon we will be the best.

    “This ranking is a challenge and it can be sustained with the judicious use of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFUND) allocation to the institution and research funding.”