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Tag: Ladoke Akintola University of Technology

Why we helped LAUTECH students during ASUU strike – RoyalNiddle

The words of Ralph Waldo Emerson: “The purpose of life is not just to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honourable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well,” perfectly describes Folayan Oluwaseun, and his wife, Folayan Adedoyin, both Directors at RoyalNiddle.

Of course, the industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) that shut Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, Oyo State is no more news to most Nigerians, however, what became news was when individuals and groups raised funding support for the students.

On the part of RoyalNiddle, the amount of concern got many asking if there are Nigerians who still care this much for others as the fashion institution made a public call on the students to receive free training during the recently concluded non-academic activities that lasted about two years.

This question is imperative because most corporate individuals think of ‘me, I and myself’ before undertaking any activity. Same goes for corporate organisations whose Marketing departments carefully plan the strategy before announcing promos. The attitude is: “What is in it for me?”

Students at RoyalNiddles fashion school

It is quite different in the case of RoyalNiddle as the Executive Directors helped to provide succour for students instead of wasting the entire period doing nothing or things that might further impede the abilities to complete their education.

Speaking on his motivation in engaging the students, Oluwaseun, a 1998 Computer Science graduate of the institution told The Nation that “the free training is my own way of giving back to the society. It’s a call to service.

“When I heard that these students have been home for about 2 years and fund-LAUTECH came up with the appeal for fund, I taught of how best to help out, because as a social entrepreneur, impacting life has always been my greatest joy.

“So, being an alumnus of the institution, the first thing I did was to reach out to a few friends and fellow alumni to discuss how best to help the students in terms of the financing while I also plan a programme on how best to empower them.

Oluwaseun recounted how he usually tells his dad and friends that he was not going to work for any employer anymore at age 30. He said: “I used to discuss it with my dad and he will say, ‘my dear, when you get to 30, that is when the pay becomes so sweet that you won’t want to quit’, so when I clocked 30, the pay was truly too good for me to quit.

“Then I said maybe it was just a youthful thought, let me gather some money and at a point, I just kept doing it till 31, 32 and on. It kept going, but then I discovered that I kept getting tired of what I was doing, not because of the pay, but I was not getting so much excitement anymore, I quit my job.”

Adedoyin training Students in one of the classes

The Professional Fashion Designer, who has worked with several companies including Stabilini Visinoni before venturing into Fashion for the past few years, further said: “It was now too much. I’ll have meetings from morning until evening, and then I will leave office late and run off to work very early the next morning. Everything was becoming so so much on my head, I was not having time for my family, most times I get home, I’ll be so stressed that I’ll just tell my wife “sorry, we can’t talk about anything again.

“Along the line, I just called my wife and said: ‘my dear, I’m resigning today’, it was the riskiest decision I had ever taken in my life. We did not discuss it at home, she just asked me if I’m sure it was the right decision and I said yes.”

For Adedoyin, who had just delivered a baby at the time, the decision caught her unaware but since she trusts her husband’s decisions, there was no need for argument. “When he came back from work that day and told me he was quitting his job tomorrow, I was alarmed and I asked what happened?

“There were too many training I still needed to go for. So, I was wondering where to get funding from. Then, something came to my mind that night to just let him follow his heart. Although, within me, I was not happy, because I had lots of things running through my head but I let him follow his mind. I said OK fine, no problem. We will cut down our expenses and some other things. I just had to agree,” she said.

Speaking about her fashion journey, Adedoyin, also a Computer Science graduate noted that one couldn’t just say: “because you went to a fashion school, you will now sit down and start doing just anything. Fashion is something that changes every day.

Sample of work done by RoyalNiddle

“My husband paid 250k for me to take the training alone. We spent over a million naira in all. The fashion school I attended was unisex. I have been to some places and they’ll tell me 120k. People would tell me to come and learn shoe and bags 180k. English trouser alone is 80k. Crafting alone is 150k and many others,” Adedoyin said.

Thanking the couple for their gesture, some of the beneficiaries who obliged to speak with The Nation expressed their profound gratitude for the opportunities provided for them to acquire new skills which they could continue to build on.

Bakare Temitope, a 500L Agricultural Extension and Rural Development student noted that the training gave her more insights as regards entrepreneurship.

Temitope, who is currently an entrepreneur – producing Office and casual Shoes in Italian format, said: “My training at RoyalNiddle has made my zeal and flare for business increase even more. I now see it from a more productive angle. The training is very much relevant to what I presently do as an entrepreneur and I am ready to take things to the next level. Thank you so much, RoyalNiddle.”

Similarly, Igbayiloye Aderonke, a graduate Nurse and Midwife, who was awaiting National Youths Service Corps (NYSC) mobilisation since 2015 observed that they were not treated poorly from the regular students who paid largely for the training.

“They have been very nice, tolerant and open with us. I always believed entrepreneurship required having good capital to start any type of business but now, I have a different perception. Now, it is doing what you are best at for the purpose of impacting lives even if you are going to be making money.

“After this training, I aspire to become an outstanding Nurse and a fashion designer. I will not allow the skills acquired at RoyalNiddle to go like that. I already have a mini-fashion business where I produce bow-ties. I made the bow-tie Senator Ben Murray-Bruce wore for his 70th birthday which held at Eko Hotels and Suite in Lagos in 2016.

“I am grateful to God and the Directors of RoyalNiddle for this one in a lifetime opportunity. I could not have afforded it if this opportunity didn’t come up or if I had missed it.

Consequently, Oluwaseun who praised the attention and learning abilities of the students said: “I didn’t know they will catch up this fast. Well done guys. Generally, I just believe if we all come together to do our own part, things will be a lot easier for the lads.”

November 13, 2017
LAUTECH commiserates with Tinubu over loss of son

The Governing Council and Management of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has condoled with its Chancellor, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, over the unfortunate incidence of the death of his first son, Jide.

Describing the incidence as sorrowful, the Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Professor Oladapo Afolabi, in a letter to Tinubu, prayed the Almighty Allah to grant the repose of the soul of the young man and grant the entire family the fortitude to bear the irreparable loss.

According to him, “while praying that such unfortunate incidence does not happen again, we cannot question God’s wisdom in taking Jide at this time, we can only pray for strength to enable members of his immediate family to contain this sadness.”

November 2, 2017
LAUTECH: Real progress being made to ensure resumption, says Registrar

The Registrar of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology ( LAUTECH ), Ogbomoso, Mr. J. A. Agboola, assured that the school management and the academic staff union are working together to ensure the resumption of academic activities in the university as already scheduled.

According to him, “real progress” is being made.

“All the dates, by the grace of God, will stand,” he said, in reaction to a statement by the academic staff union vowing not to resume despite the management announcement that the university would reopen on Friday, September 15.

The Nation had reported on Thursday that the academic staff union of LAUTECH is insisting on continuing their strike, even after meeting with the university management on Monday, September 18, until they receive the six months salary arrears promised them by the owner-state governments of Oyo and Osun.

“Nothing has been offered to us,” Dr. Ade Adejumo, ASUU zonal coordinator, had said. “We are still where we were when we started the action.”

However, in his interview with The Nation on Friday, Mr. Agboola maintained that the management and unions are making headway in restoring normalcy in the university.

He also said that the management and the unions are working together, adding it is “all for the good of the system.”

When asked about the progress being made with the N4 billion government funding Senate President Bukola Saraki promised in July, and N9 million already crowdfunded by the FundLAUTECH campaign launched in June by some alumni of the university, Mr. Agboola declined to comment, explaining that it was outside his purview.

September 23, 2017
Clouds over LAUTECH’s resumption

The reopening of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, last week, ought to be cheery news for students, who were sent home for six months due to a workers’strike. But after the resumption announced by the institution’s Governing Council, students were worried about the “disheartening responses” from their lecturers who have vowed not to resume until their demands are met. ISRAEL FAWOLE reports.

Six months after activities at the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) were paralysed following an industrial action by teachers and non-academic staff, the institution’s Governing Council, last Thursday, announced its reopening. But, strike-weary students are not cheered by the news.

In an email by the Registrar, Mr. Jacob Agboola, the management urged students and employees to resume at the Ogbomoso and Osogbo campuses, adding that registration would commence on October 3, after the Independence holiday.

Mixed reactions have been trailing the announcement of the school’s resumption. Besides, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and other workers’unions, under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), have vowed not to return to work, until their demands are met.

ASUU Chairman Dr. Biodun Olaniran and the JAC leader Mr. Muraina Alesinloye said their members would not resume, because the unions were not aware of the resumption directive.

Olaniran said the union was unaware of the university’s announcement of a resumption date. He said members would remain on an indefinite strike until its demands were met by the Visitors to the school – Oyo and Osun state governments.

The ASUU demands, according to Olaniran, include payment of 11 months’ salaries, earned academic allowances, gratuities and pensions, health insurance and promotion, among others.

He said: “ASUU will not obey any resumption directive until our demands are met. If our demands are not addressed by the Visitors to the school, the strike continues indefinitely.”

Alesinloye said none of the three unions under JAC was aware of the resumption. He said: “I am the chairman of SSANU, but I am speaking as the chairman of JAC now. We are not aware of the resumption and you will agree that you cannot obey any directive you are not aware of.”

For students, the unions’ responses to the resumption are worrisome, raising anxiety that the resumption could be a mirage at the end of the day.

Seleem Adeniyi, a 500-Level Chemical Engineering student, said the reactions of the academic staff indicated that there was no agreement between the Governing Council and workers before the announcement of the resumption date. He urged the owner-states and the school management to meet with workers and accede to their demands.

Adeniyi said: “I am not elated about the resumption, because it could be temporary. The lecturers’ demands have not been met, yet we want them to come to teach. They also have heavy financial responsibilities to meet. They have children and family members to care for. They also need to pay for healthcare and other services. If they are not paid, we would be foolish to expect them on campus. The management needs to give them strong assurance on their demands.”

Having spent months at home, Oyekunle Oyedijo, a 500-Level Biochemistry student, said it would be disappointing if students’ hopes were dashed because of the ASUU’s no-resumption comment.

He said: “This crisis has caused a irreparable damage to students’ psyches. Some of us have died in the course of the strike. Some are on sickbeds. Even, some of our lecturers died because there was no money to pay for treatment. In the interest of students, the government and the management need to create a lasting solution to the crisis. Our hopes in the school would be dashed if this resumption is short-lived.”

Sodiq Babatunde, an Agricultural Science student, expressed concern about the rumour making the rounds that there could be hike in tuition fee.

“The burden of paying for hostels we have not stayed in for months is on us already. Yet, we are hearing that tuition fees could be increased, to drive up the school’s Internally-Generated Revenue (IGR). How do they expect us to balance this? They need to consider our plight, because the economy is not in good shape,” he said.

Enike Oleghe, a Pure and Applied Chemistry student, said: “I was so excited when I heard the news about our resumption, but it is unfortunate that the demands of the workers have not been met. This is pertinent to solving the crisis. The management, as a medium between the workers’unions and the government, should consider students’plight and hasten up the process of engaging the lecturers. They need to ensure that nothing disrupts this resumption. We are tired of staying at home.”

Damilola Abodun, a students’ leader, warned against tution fee hike, saying it would be counter-productive. He said the solution was not to increase tuition fee, but the effective management of resources. He added that students would move against any fee hike.

Titilayo Robert, a Transport Management student, said: “Announcement of resumption without the workers’unions looks like a political propaganda. We are begging the government to stop toying with our future. We are not getting any younger. If their own children attend schools abroad, they should remember children of the poor masses who can’t afford to send their own children overseas.”

Busayo Oyedele, another student, lamented that she had remained on the same level since 2015, describing the perennial strike as “disturbing”.

Busayo said: “The state of LAUTECH is pathetic. Our mates in other schools are ahead of us in many ways. How can university students remain on the same level for two years? We will keep begging them until they consider it right to do what is needful to restore the lost glory of LAUTECH.”

CAMPUSLIFE gathered that members of the Students’ Union Government (SUG) held a congress with some students’ bodies on Wednesday, last week, to discuss the way forward for LAUTECH. The congress was attended by the National Association of Nigeria Students (NANS), Alliance of Nigerian Students Against Neo-Liberal Attacks, Liberal Movement, National Liberty Vanguard, and Democratic Socialist Movement.

In their joint communiqué, the students’ bodies said they would mobilise against the Oyo and Osun states’ government should the school fail to re-open. They vowed to move against the Governing Council.

September 21, 2017
BREAKING: LAUTECH Reopens September 15

The Governing Council of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH), Ogbomoso, has approved resumption of activities on the Institution’s Campuses with effect from Friday September 15, 2017.

In a statement signed by the Registrar and Secretary to Council, Jacob A. Agboola, students of the University are expected to return to school on Monday September 25, 2017, while full academic activities, the details of which Senate will announce, shall commence immediately after the Independence anniversary holiday.

Council thanked the Governors of Oyo and Osun States, Senator Isiaka Abiola Ajimobi and Ogbeni Rauf Adesoji Aregbesola respectively, for agreeing to support the University with necessary funds to enable the University to return to its normal work schedule and reinvigorate its latent capacities for accelerated and sustainable growth and development. Council also appreciated all stakeholders for their understanding and support.

Council further appealed to students, staff, parents as well as the general public to demonstrate greater faith and dedication to the wellbeing of the institution, as better days lie ahead of it. Concerted efforts should, therefore, be geared towards ensuring that nothing is allowed to disrupt the normal work of the

September 14, 2017
LAUTECH to end strike in days, VC assures

The Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (LAUTECH) Ogbomoso, Prof. Oladapo Afolabi, has assured that the industrial action by the wokers of the institution would end in matter of days.

He disclosed that the Governing Council is making a serious effort to find a lasting solution to the challenges facing LAUTECH.

Speaking at a press conference at the College of Health Sciences of the university in Osogbo, Osun State capital, he said: “We had our inaugural meeting at the main campus in Ogbomoso on August 9, 2017 and designed a 90-day action plan which has started in earnest.

We are determined to bring LAUTECH to Canaan.

“We have set timelines that are achievable for the activities of Council in handling the challenges and tasked ourselves to resuscitate the university and redirect its resources in order to fulfil the vision of the founding fathers.

“From the various interactions of the Council with the diverse stakeholders, we have realized that we all are on the same page, working towards the same goal.

“We all realized that the Council should spare no efforts to get the University back on crack and reopen for students to continue with their studies and move on their academic pursuit.

“The Strategic Intervention Team on its own has advised the new Council to interact more closely with the staff members through their Union in order to gain their confidence and boost their morale which was observed to be at low ebbs owing to the nonpayment of their salaries for an upward of ten months.”

Prof. Oladapo also declared that the Council is not sleeping nor insensitive to the incessant strike actions by the workers.

He spoke further: “Since we were inaugurated, we have called all the stakeholders and with the way we are now, we are closer to the answer than when we started.

“We may not give a categorical date but we can assure you that, start counting days and not weeks. Let everybody have hope.

“As regard the pattern of funding of the Institution, the take of this Council is that the funding model must change radically. We don’t expect the University to be going cap in hand to the owner State every month if they will fund the School.

“We expect that whatsoever would be provided should be within the basket that enable planning with the resources so that we could also be creative and add value; not just be a body that is just absorbing money.

“We expect that any resource that comes to the system is a resource that will provide something that public and humanity will appreciate.”

August 25, 2017
LAUTECH to reopen soon, says pro-chancellor

THE crisis which led to the closure of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, will soon be resolved, its Pro-chancellor, Prof Oladapo Afolabi, has said.

Afolabi, who chairs the Governing Council, spoke to reporters in Osogbo, the Osun State capital.

Other council members, the Vice-Chancellor (VC), Prof Adeniyi Gbadegesin, and his fellow principal officers were at the briefing.

The school was shut five months ago, following the management’s inability to pay workers for 10 months.

Afolabi, a former Head of Service of the Federation, said he was optimistic about early resolution of the crisis, stressing that he and other members of the council would renew their determination to restore the lost glory of LAUTECH.

He said the council was inaugurated at a time the institution is in its trying moment, assuring that they had accepted the challenges and were ready to ensure all issues causing perennial crisis at the institution, including funding, would be addressed.

The professor of Chemistry said the council would interact more with employees through their unions in order to gain their confidence and to boost their morale. He added that the council would also meet with students and other stakeholders, including governors of Osun and Oyo, former VCs, Soun of Ogbomoso, among others to ensure that the crisis is permanently resolved.

Afolabi said: “We had our inaugural meeting at the main campus in Ogbomoso on August 9, 2017 and created a 90-day action plan which has started in earnest. Consultations have been held with the various unions, parents’ forum and traditional rulers.

“We have also engaged the service of an auditing firm to ascertain the financial standing of the institution. We are expecting an interim report from the firm in a matter of days. It is this report we will be presenting to the visitors to the university. We have high hope that submission of this report would go a long way in bringing get a lasting solution to the problems of LAUTECH.

“From various interactions the council has had with the diverse stakeholders, we have realised that we are on the same page, working towards the same goal. The council will spare no efforts to get the university re-open for students to continue with their studies and move on with their academic pursuits. The students have pledged their cooperation to abide by any decision taken, if that would make the university to work again.

“We are optimistic of early resolution of the crisis rocking the institution. Government is committed to bringing back a formidable school, while council and management are more determined to ensure an enduring legacy.We hope that this effort would lead to resumption of activities in the institution in a matter of days and not months. In about 20 days, we should be able to give the public an update on resumption.”

Afolabi promised that the council would ensure accountability in the spending of the institution’s funds and would not become a burden to the two owner states. He said there would be judicious use of subventions released by the government to run the institution.

August 24, 2017
LAUTECH: KPMG audit report to be ready Friday – Olowofela

Indications emerge on Wednesday in Ibadan that report of the ongoing audit of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, (Lautech) Ogbomosho will be presented to the owners states, latest by Friday August 25.
Oyo State Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Prof. Adeniyi Olowofela made the disclosure while featuring on a radio programme monitored in the state yesterday.

He said the management of the institution has finally agreed to the call by the two owner states to give room for the auditing the institution as a way of resolving the perennial and protracted crises rocking it.

While assuring that the report by the auditing firm will fast track the process to surmount the impending crises rocking the institution, the commissioner noted that activities are in top gear to ensure the school’s crises are resolved soon.

He also clarified that the state government’s establishment of Ibadan Technical University is not to make it as preference over the LAUTECH noting that TechU total school payment package stands at about N900, 000 to make it self-sufficient and self-dependence.

He explained that the technical university is built for people that have capacity to afford it, maintaining that there are modalities to resolve Lautech’s crisis as soon as possible in the interest of the masses.

Speaking on some reasons for the protracted crisis, the Commissioner said there are some intricacies involved in the matter of Lautech.

According to him, Osun State, which is a co-owner state to Oyo State, has a university which is self-financing despite the fact it was established many years after Lautech and as such does not see any reason why the case of Lautech should be different.

He said: “The position of Osun State government was that if Osun State university that was established 12 years ago can be self-financing, LAUTECH that has been established for twenty years plus must be self-financing as well especially now there’s dwindling allocation to state from Federal government”, he said.

Olowofela added that, to show the seriousness of both state governments towards the institution, the two state governments in January, 2017 committed N292million each to solve the immediate problem of the school while the state governments later jointly approved the audit of the school by KPMG.

He also added that, between 2011 and 2017, the Oyo State government has single handedly spent 10.2 billion on LAUTECH University, N8.3 billion on LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Ogbomoso and N3.7 billion on LAUTECH Teaching Hospital, Oshogbo in Osun State.

Olowofela noted that if the state government is not serious about issue of LAUTECH, it would not have spent a whopping N22 billion on the institution.

August 23, 2017
FADAMA III programme trains 300 graduate unemployed youths, women in Oyo

The FADAMA III Additional Financing (AF) Programme has started the training of 300 unemployed youths and women in Oyo State to enable them to acquire skills in various agricultural enterprises.

The FADAMA III AF programme made this known in Abuja on Monday via a statement by Mr Tunde Oladunjoyelo, the World Bank Media Consultant on FADAMA.

Oladunjoyelo said that the aim of the training, organised under the FADAMA Graduates, Unemployed Youth and Women Support scheme, was to empower unemployed graduate s, youths and women to become self-employed and employers of labour.

Mr Nath Olayinka, the FADAMA Project Coordinator in Oyo State, said that training would run for two weeks at three training centres.

He listed the centres as College of Agriculture, Igboora, Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso and Institute of Agriculture Research and Training, Moor Plantation, Ibadan.

Speaking, Mr Oyewole Oyewumi, Oyo State Commissioner for Agriculture, said that the vision of Gov. Abiola Ajimobi’s administration to create one million jobs via the agricultural sector would be fulfilled with the intervention of the FADAMA III AF project.

He said that the training would empower the beneficiaries to become experts in their chosen agricultural enterprises.

“At the end of the training, each participant is expected to prepare his or her business plan which will be assessed and the best 200 participants will eventually be selected for funding.

“The starter package ranges from N700,000 to N1 million, depending on their enterprises, and the money will be given to them as a grant and not a loan,’’ he said.

Two of the trainees, Mrs Lawal Mariam and Mr Adekanmbi Johnson, commended the Oyo State Government and the FADAMA programme for the scheme.

They pledged that the beneficiaries would use the knowledge they acquired in the training to boost the development of the agricultural sector of the State.

“We also contribute to growth of the national economy in general,” he said.

Prof. James Adeniran, the Executive Director of Institute of Agriculture Research and Training, said that youths and women were the most vulnerable groups in the society.

“However, the future of agricultural development for a diversified economy in Nigeria is in the hands of women and youths,’’ he added.

Adeniran assured the participants that in the course of after training, they would be exposed to standard procedures that would enhance their knowledge and prepare them as future entrepreneurs

He said that their participation in agriculture would upgrade their socio-economic status, while enabling them to contribute more meaningfully to the growth of the nation’s economy and food security.

July 24, 2017
SSANU to FG: Take over LAUTECH now

The Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) has asked the Federal Government to save the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology by immediately taking over ownership of the institution from the present owners in the interest of the staff and students of the institution.

The union also called on the Government to make public all the recovered money from politicians and public office holders and inject the money into the economy to help get the country of recession.

In a communique at the end of its National Executive Council meeting, the union expressed dismay that both Oyo and Osun state governments who are joint owners of the institution have abandoned jeopardizing the careers of its members, lives of students and other members of the University community.

According to the communique signed by the National President, Comrade Samson Chijioke Ugwoke and the National Public Relations Officer, Comrade Salaam Abdussobur, the union expressed sadness that “While the two State Governments have gone ahead setting up their own Universities, LAUTECH should not be left to rot in a country where the existing Universities cannot absorb the teeming prospective entrants into Universities.”

While noting the potentials of the university and its past contributions to national development, the union wondered why such institution should be abandoned for any reason and appealed to the federal government to halt this painful and embarrassing action of Oyo and Osun State Governments.

They appealed to stakeholders in the Educational Sector, Traditional Rulers in the Southwest, political leaders and concerned Nigerians to take more than a passing interest in the issue of affecting the institution in the interest of Nigerian children and the future of the Nation.

They condemn what they described as “contemptuous” the action of the Federal Government “in defiance and disrespect of the rule of law by bluntly refusing to implement the judgment of the National Industrial Court that clearly directed that Staff Schools are integral part of the University as contained in the SSANU/FGN 2009 agreement.”

The union expressed disappointment with the recent guidelines in the 2018 Personnel Budget Call Circular dated May 5, 2017, signed by Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, Minister of Budget and National Planning, directing that workers in Staff Schools affiliated to Institutions should not be included in the Personnel Budgets of such Institutions.

According to the union, this directive is a gross defiance of the Court judgment in respect of University Staff Schools, and an affront to democratic institutions and Rule of Law which the Federal Government professes to uphold and protect and demand that workers in the University Staff Schools be immediately integrated into the University system by including them in the budget and according them their proper status without further delay to avoid nationwide industrial action.

The union called on the Federal Government to make public all the recovered money from politicians and public office holders and inject the money into the economy to help come out of the recession as keeping these monies in reserve or as savings while Nigerians starve, makes no meaning.

It further advises Government to promote policies that will attract investors and prevent oligopolies in the food and building industries to save the masses these bleak situations. SSANU further advises Government to urgently negotiate with the Nigeria Labour Congress for review of the National Minimum Wage and ensure Nigerians are given living wages.

The union demands as a matter of urgency, the implementation of the payment of Earned Allowances being owed members of SSANU arising from the SSANU/ FGN 2009 Agreement as the continued delay is a breach of a Collective Bargaining Agreement and a dishonorable act by Government.

While commending hate speeches, threat for secession and drumbeat of war by some sections of the country, the union called on the Nigeria workers to unite against poverty, deprivation and exploitation by members of the elite/ ruling class.

It said “while the members of the ruling class have other places and countries to run to, the average Nigerian does not. NEC therefore urges Nigerians not to allow themselves to be used as cannon fodder by the elite class who promote all these divisions for personal, selfish and exploitative ends.

“Observing however, that there are imbalances and inequalities in the Nigerian system, which need urgent redress, NEC urges the Nigerian people to promote dialogue with a view to deepening the National conversation, instead of violence which would bring along with it, grave consequences and repercussions.

On the position of the association on the state of insecurity and attacks on University of Maiduguri, it said, “NEC in Session, condemns the spate of bombings in the University of Maiduguri leading to wanton destruction of lives and property of staff and students

“While SSANU appreciates the security forces and the Federal Government for achievements so far recorded in curtailing the menace of insurgence, it urges them to do more in intelligence gathering and tasks the Federal Government to provide equipment and adequate funding to protect our Universities from violence being wreaked by these miscreants.”

July 21, 2017