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  • FUNAAB’s SSANU, NASU, other join strike

    FUNAAB’s SSANU, NASU, other join strike

    Federal University of Agriculture (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, was deserted on Monday as members of the Senior Staff Association of Universities (SSANU), Non – Academic Staff of Universities (NASU) and National Association of Technologists (NAAT) of the  embarked upon industrial action in compliance with directives from their respective national bodies.

    The SSANU chairman, Rotimi Fasunwon, said they began the indefinite strike as directed by national leadership to compel the federal government to implement the 2009 agreement with the union, adequately fund the nation’s universities and fractionalization of salaries among others.

    Also, his NASU counterpart, Com. Isiaq Odunjo, said part of the reason for the strike is non registration of university pension scheme, bad governance and corruption in the university system.

    But Mr. Adewale Kupoluyi of the Directorate of Public Relations, FUNAAB told The Nation that the striking non – academic staff were acting on the directive of their national bodies.

    “The decision taken by the non-teaching staff unions, under the aegis of Joint Action Council (JAC), to embark on strike, was a national one. What happened in FUNAAB, could be seen as a response to the national directive,” Adewale said.

    Meanwhile, the non-teaching staff of Nigerian universities on Monday said they would meet to decide on a date to meet with Federal Government over the indefinite strike embarked by the unions.

    It will be recalled that the non-teaching staff of universities under the auspices of Joint Action Committee (JAC) had threatened to embark on an indefinite strike from Monday, September 11 over non-implementation of the 2009 agreement.

    Mr Samson Ugwoke, the President of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) made this known in a phone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

    “We have commenced the strike today; the strike is total, comprehensive and indefinite. We only just got a letter from the Ministry of Labour and Employment inviting us for a meeting today,” Ugwoke said.

  • Strike: SSANU, NAAT, NASU to meet FG

    Strike: SSANU, NAAT, NASU to meet FG

    The non-teaching staff of Nigerian universities on Monday said they would meet to decide on a date to meet with Federal Government over the indefinite strike embarked by the unions.

    It will be recalled that the non-teaching staff of universities under the auspices of Joint Action Committee (JAC) had threatened to embark on an indefinite strike from Monday, September 11 over non-implementation of the 2009 agreement.

    Mr Samson Ugwoke, the President of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) made this known in a phone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Abuja.

    “We have commenced the strike today; the strike is total, comprehensive and indefinite.

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    “We only just got a letter from the Ministry of Labour and Employment inviting us for a meeting today.

    “But, it is not something I alone can decide but the JAC as it involves other unions, we have to come together and take that decision on when to meet with the Federal Government, ‘’he said.

    The unions under the JAC are the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and SSANU.

    The demands of the unions include the payment of earned allowances to members, a review of the governance system in universities, improved funding in line with UNESCO recommendations.

    Provisions of infrastructures in universities and payment of salary shortfall being owed members, implementation of the National Industrial Court judgment on university staff schools, registration of NUPEMCO.

    Others are implementation of CONTISS 14 and 15 for technologists, improvement of teaching and learning facilities in the universities, stemming the tide of corruption in the university system.

    The unions also called on Federal Government to show more commitment and seriousness in the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/University unions agreement, among others.

    NAN reports that the Ministry of Labour and Employment had invited the unions for a crucial meeting on Monday but the unions were absent as they claimed they were not aware of any such forum.

    The ministry has further postponed the meeting for Thursday, Sept. 14.

  • Non-academic staff of universities threaten strike from Monday

    Non-academic staff of universities threaten strike from Monday

    Non teaching staff of Nigerian Universities under the auspices of Joint Action Committee is to embark on an indefinite strike action with effect from Monday, September 11 to press home their demand for the implementation of the 2009 agreement entered into with the unions by the federal government.

    The unions made up of the National Association of Academic Technologists, Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) said the government was taking the non teaching staff of universities for granted.

    The unions said they have waited for eight years for the government to implement the agreement it freely entered into with them.

    Speaking at a joint Press Conference in Abuja, President of SSANU, Comrade Samson Ugokwe said eight years after the agreement, government t has not been responsive to the demands of the unions, pointing out that no action appear to have been taken on any of the issues which he said has been implemented in breach.

    The demand of the three University based non teaching staff unions include:

    The payment of Earned Allowances to our members, a review of the governance system in our universities, improved funding in line with UNESCO recommendations, provisions of infrastructures in universities and payment of salary shortfall being owed members.

    Other demand include implementation of the National Industrial Court judgement on University staff schools, registration of NUPEMCO, implementation of CONTISS 14 and 15 for Technologists, improvement of teaching and learning facilities in the universities, teaming the tide of corruption in the university system, showing more commitment and seriousness in the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/University unions agreement and ensuring the headship of non teaching units by non teaching staff employed for the purpose of the units.

    Ugokwe said that during the strike, there will be no provisions of services, no matter how skeletal. Concessions shall not be granted while all our members are to stay at home till further notice unless as directed by JAC through their respective Presidents.

    According to him, the unions have engaged in various consultations and dialogues with government on the issues stake and have written several letters and embarked on several protest to no avail, pointing out that several representations made by the unions which have been ignored by the government.

    According to him, rather than address the demands of the union as contained in the agreement, universities have continued to deteriorate, while poor governance system has become the order of the day and has brought the universities to their knees.

    He alleged that corruption has taken its toll on the university system, while infrastructure and facilities are nothing to write home about, adding that while the unions supports government efforts at fighting corruption, they believe that there is more to be done to ensure that individuals found culpable should be dealt with in accordance with the law.

    Comrade Ugokwe said further that rather than obey the decision of the National Industrial Court on the funding of university staff schools, the government has kept mute despite series of communication in the issue, adding that it is an irony that the same government that promise employment to Nigerians will approve a circular that send people into the Labour market.

    He said “if an agreement was signed in 2009 and now in 2017, we are still de a ding for the implementation of such agreement, does it now show that we have have been exceedingly patient? Our patient however seems to ha r ur. To an end particularly when federal government to be toeing the dangerous path of taking non teaching staff unions for granted.

    “You would recall that the JAC of NAAT, NASU and SSANU directed a five day warning strike in January this year to drive home their demands. The strike was however suspended through the intervention of the Honorable Minister of Labour and Employment. Senator Chris Ngige who headed the Federal Government t team that interfaced with JAC of the three  unions. At the end, a memorandum of understanding was entered into by the two parties.

    “Unfortunately, seven months after, we are still at the sorry situation we were before the MOU as the issues in contention were not addressed and government t kept a dead silence despite letters and entreaties reminding the, of their commitment to the non teaching staff unions.”

  • How to utilise recovered loot, by SSANU

    How to utilise recovered loot, by SSANU

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has urged the Federal Government to inject recovered loot  into the economy to create jobs.

    It appealed to workers to unite against poverty, deprivation and exploitation by the elite and the ruling class.

    The association, in a communiqué signed by its National President, Samson Ugwoke, and  National Public Relations Officer, Salaam Abdussobur, after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, said the country would gain more by staying together than disintegrating.

    SSANU bemoaned the precarious and pitiable condition of workers in the face of the present economic realities and urged government to take proactive measures to end hardship and suffering in the country.

    “NEC noted that the costs of food items and basic commodities are beyond the reach of the average Nigerian worker, while building materials have become so costly that the common man can no longer afford a decent home,” the union said.

    It also urged the Federal Government to plough back recovered funds into the economy to exit recession.

    “NEC advises the government to announce the huge sums of money so far recovered from looters and immediately plough back these huge amounts into the economy, as saving these money while Nigerians starve makes no meaning.

    “This will give verve to government’s transparency and accountability, especially in the fight against corruption,” it added.

    It called on the government to introduce policies that would attract investors and prevent oligopolies in the food and building industries to protect the masses from exploitation.

    SSANU decried the delay in the negotiation of the minimum wage and urged government to speed up the process.

    It also urged government to urgently implement the earned allowance owed its members, saying, “NEC in session demands 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 dishonourable act on the part of government.”

    SSANU bemoaned the sack of its branch chairman  and secretary of the union at the University of Abuja.

    “NEC noted with dismay and shock, the breaches and administrative infractions perpetrated by the authorities at the University of Abuja, leading to the suspension and termination of appointments of the Branch Chairman and Secretary of SSANU at the university.

    “NEC noted that the process leading to these actions were un-procedural, unlawful and unconstitutional. NEC, therefore, urges the Minister of Education to prevail on the Governing Council of the university to immediately recall our illegally terminated officers to avert a national industrial crisis,” it stated.

    SSANU also decried the abandonment of Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) owned by Oyo and Osun states, saying the action of the two state governments was jeopardising the careers of its members, students and other members of the university community.

  • SSANU to Fed Govt: take over LAUTECH to avert collapse

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has urged the Federal Government to take over the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology (LAUTECH) from the two sister-states of Osun and Oyo.

    The union noted that only such a step will best serve the interest of workers and students of the institution.

    It advised the Federal Government to make public the money it recovered from politicians and public office holders and inject same into the economy to get the country out of recession.

    In a communique at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting, the union expressed dismay that Oyo and Osun states, the joint owners of the institution, are jeopardising the careers of the university’s workers, the lives of students and other members of the university community.

    The communique by SSANU’s National President, Samson Chijioke Ugwoke, and the National Public Relations Officer (PRO), Salaam Abdussobur, said the union decried the state of LAUTECH.

    It said: “While the two state governments have gone set up their own universities, LAUTECH should not be left to rot in a country where the existing universities cannot absorb the teeming prospective entrants.”

  • SSANU task FG on security at UNIMAID

    SSANU task FG on security at UNIMAID

    Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, (SSANU) has called on the Federal Government to immediately take steps to arrest the current spate of suicide bombing at the University of Maiduguri by putting in place adequate security apparatus to check the incident.

    The association want the government to set up a task force in  the University to protect the university community from attacks by insurgents and safeguard the lives of staff and students and create a conducive atmosphere for learning in the institution.

    Speaking at the 31st National Executive Council meeting of the union, its National President, Comrade Samson Ugwoke said the union has lost manpower since the university became the target of attacks, stressing that the spate of attacks in the institution was worrisome.

    While asking security operatives to up their games in arresting the ugly situation of suicide bombing in the university, he lamented that the economic recession in the country had lasted for too long, even as he urged the Federal Government to give account of the recovered loots from politicians and public office holders and also inject the recovered money into the economy.

    Comrade Ugwoke said: “Sambisa has been cleared and I feel it is now accessible. But what concerns us most is the spate of attacks at the University of Maiduguru. It is auspicious concern to us.  It seems that the suicide bombers are targeting that university. The University has lost a lot of manpower to terrorists of suicide bombers..

    “I got a letter of the university community calling on the Federal Government to set up a special task force to look after the University. As you are aware, teaching, learning, research and community development cannot take place in atmosphere of chaos and fear. 

    “So,  for teaching and learning to take place, calmness and peace and sine qua non. I appeal to the Federal Government to listen to the cry of the University community in Maiduguri by setting up a task force with a designed security gadget or network to track down the people that send these young girls and young boys to bombard the University.

    “These suicide bombers come out from somewhere. They were not born with bombs attached to them.  The fact that the security agencies have not been able to track the source of the manufacturers of these IED and also from where they recruit these innocent ignorant Children to do these heinous acts is surprising to someone of us. 

    “We are calling on security agencies to live up to their responsibilities by securing members of the university community of the University of Maiduguri.”

    He said further that Speaking on the economy, the SSANU President said,  “the recession is lasting too long and it is biting hard on SSANU members. Government should give account of the recovered loot and plough the recovered loot into the economy so as to boost it and move the economy forward. The money is losing value. “

  • ‎Protest rocks Otuoke federal varsity 

    ‎Protest rocks Otuoke federal varsity 

    Angry protesters have disrupted academic activities at the Federal University located in Otuoke, former President Goodluck Jonathan’s hometown in Ogbia Local Government Area of Bayelsa State.

    Hundreds of protesters were said to have caused a stir on Wednesday when they blocked the road and barricaded the entrance to the university over alleged  marginalisation of indigenes in employment into key positions in the institution.

    The aggrieved persons caused traffic gridlock during the demonstration, which reportedly started at about 7:30am.

    It was gathered that the action, which was led by the institution’s chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) and the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Worldwide, lasted for about three hours.

    The protester were armed with placards of different inscriptions such as, “Bayelsans cannot be marginalised in our own lands”, “we want fair representation, Bayelsans are qualified”, “FUO na our oil well, Gbam!”, “it is our time, Bayelsans say”.

    They clapped, danced and demanded an attention from the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Accra Jaja.

    The protesters said they were bothered about the recent appointment of the institution’s Chief Legal Adviser, saying it failed the due process test.

    They insisted that the action of the university was a deliberate attempt to marginalise the indigenes and further under develop the people of the region.

    Jaja, who addressed the protesters in the company of senior employees of the institution and security operatives appealed to the protesters to calm down.

    The Chairman of SSANU, Mr. Kalizibe Joseph, said the recent appointment of a new legal adviser was not in tandem with the laid down procedure for recruitment.

    He asked the management to withdraw the appointment, follow due process, by first of all advertising the vacancy on a national daily to allow interested individuals to compete for the position.

    He said: “SSANU is a watchdog. The vice-chancellor had earlier said there is a shortfall in the institution allocation, which has made the institution unable to pay full salaries to workers.

    “We also agreed that anything employment should be put on hold pending when the institution’s finances will improve. But we were surprised on this new appointment.

    “Besides before the institution must employ, they are to first of all advertise, to give fair opportunity to all interested applicants who will also be subjected to interviews. But these processes were not followed. We are therefore calling for the immediate termination of this appointment, as it does not represent equity and fairness.

    “I am also using this medium to call on the Chairman of Council, Senator Gbemisola Saraki, to stop holding council meetings in her parlour in Abuja, but rather do the right thing by holding meetings in the institution”.

    Also speaking, the National Legal Adviser, IYC, Mr. Tare Porri, said IYC would continue to demand control of all resources located in Ijaw territory, saying Ijaws would never play a second fiddle in the country.

    “This action was a deliberate attempt by the Chairman of the council, Sen. Gbemisola Saraki to send Ijaw people parking from the university by singlehandedly imposing her brother against due process as the institution chief legal adviser.

    “All the principal positions in the school are occupied by foreigners except the office of the VC and a dean, who are Ijaw people but not indigenes. There are more than one million qualified Ijaw people that can hold that legal adviser position and a person from the north is not better off”, he said.

    He reminded the VC that the 2015 Presidential elections were lost simply because former President Jonathan was an Ijaw man, adding that there was no federal institution in the country that had Ijaw people in critical positions.

    Jaja promised to revisit the decision taken and pleaded with all the protesters to give him a week to properly address the issue.

     

  • SSANU set for showdown with varsities over sacked colleagues

    SSANU set for showdown with varsities over sacked colleagues

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU)  is set for a battle with universities that sacked their members at the staff schools because of the de-harmonisation policy.

    Armed with a favourable judgment from the National Industrial Court (NIC), the union said it was battle-ready to restore its members.

    But  it would spare universities that refused to send SSANU members away during the crisis, it said.

    The union’s National President Comrade Samson Ugwoke spoke  during SSANU, 57th quarterly zonal meeting (Western Zone) at the Lagos State University (LASU), Ojo.

    It will be recalled that SSANU took the sacking of its members at the staff schools to NIC, describing it as a breach of the SSANU-Federal Government 2009 Agreement. The universities-deharmonised SSANU workers, even when the matter was at the NIC, stood their ground, and insisted that the decision was a prerogative of the Governing Council as Federal Government had no hand in it. The union eventually obtained judgment in its favour in December.

    Ugwoke said SSANU was warning the affected universities to recall their sacked colleagues immediately, or risk its wrath.

    Ugwoke said: “The issue is very clear, for those (universities) that do not owe our members, they have done the right thing. But for those who disengaged our members, they must implement the judgment. The judgment is already out and we are awaiting the interpretation from the Office of the Attorney-General.

    He continued: “Already, the Federal Government has set up a multi- ministerial committee from the Ministry of Finance, Budget Office, National Universities Commission, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Labour, as well as Salaries and Wages Commission to look into the implementation. So, whenever the final report comes, we are looking forward to recalling our members, paying their salary arrears, promoting them and paying their promotion arrears.

    “For those universities who listened and obeyed the law by the National Industrial Court, they will have no problem with us, Federal Government knows them.

    “The judgment took place on December 5, last year, and it stated that as far as the (2009) agreement is concerned, wherever you see Governing Council, it implies the Federal Government since government is the proprietor of the universities. So, whether you say ‘Council shall …” or the “University shall …” you are referring to government.”

    Ugwoke was confronted on why SSANU had been at the vanguard of whistle blowing as exemplified in the case of Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta; Federal University of Technology, Akure and Lagos State University. But he denied the allegation.

    “Let me correct you by saying SSANU is not a whistle-blowing union, “Ugwoke explained.

    He continued: “Ahead of the whiste-blowing policy, we have always called our management to order.  As it is our tradition, we usually write to the VC when we observe inadequacies and ask him to correct them. We do this because our members are at the centre of administration. But when the money siphoned is colossal and at the detriment of workers and the university, then the next petition will go to the Federal Government.

    “Also note that before these petitions get to the government, the university in question must have ignored our petition or dared us as in ‘what can you do’.  SSANU members are not interested in getting a percentage of the funds in line with whistle-blowing policy. We only want to correct the system. We are not always happy seeing money meant for the university system being siphoned illegally.’’

  • NLC chair warns SSANU against incessant strike

    The Chairman of the Imo State chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), Comrade Austin Chilakpu, has warned labour unions to conduct their affairs in tandem with the laws as enshrined in the constitution of the nation.

    He said that the unions, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) are not above the law.

    Chilakpu, who spoke when the newly-elected executive of SSANU, Federal University of Technology Owerri (FUTO) chapter, visited him in his office in Owerri, stressed that “unions must exhaust all available peaceful means of resolving issues before taking up arms against government institutions”.

    The Labour leader added that the aim of labour unions is not to fight the government but rather to work on improving the welfare of the workers.

    He charged the SSANU leaders to use their election as representatives of the members to build themselves and earn the trust of the people, adding that “every labour leader must lead by example”.

    Chilakpu also advised SSANU members and FUTO management to close ranks and cooperate with the new executive, adding that “there are no elections without skirmishes”.

    In his speech, the SSANU Chairman, Comrade Franklin Matthews, said that the leaders visited to pledge their loyalty to the NLC Chairman.

    He commended the NLC for its role in the SSANU election.

    Mathews disclosed that the SSANU Executive since its inauguration had been building bridges in the institution.

    Also speaking, Matthews’ predecessor, Mrs Loveth Ekwemalor, who was among the delegation, thanked the NLC Chairman for his support during her tenure, while imploring him to extend similar gesture to her successor.

  • NASU, SSANU and the rumpus in FUOYE

    As a senior public-spirited citizen, I have watched with dismay and unease the unfolding drama between the authorities of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE) and some workers’ unions. The unions under reference are the Non-Academic Staff Union and the Senior Staff Union of Nigerian Universities.
    In my capacity as a free-wheeling journalist, I was able to have a comprehensive insight into the nature of the issues which have brought the young university to a near-standstill in recent weeks.
    Incidentally, the platform was provided by the interactive session between the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Kayode Soremekun and newspaper correspondents in Ado-Ekiti.
    As far as I could gather from the interaction, three main issues constitute the bone of contention.
    The first has to do with the fact that outstanding salaries are being owed for two months. The second revolves around the issue of promotions while the last one, which is arguably the most important and intractable, centres on the issue of hazard allowance.
    In his response, the vice chancellor proceeded to take on the issues in turn. As regards outstanding salaries, he pointed out that, as of Monday, January 9, when the press conference was being held, November salaries had been paid and to boot; December salaries though late, would hit the workers’ bank accounts on that day. And true to the vice-chancellor’s words, the workers are not being owed any salary.
    On the second issue, Soremekun pointed out that modalities were in place to carry out the promotion exercise. In this respect, he pointed out that earlier on, the management had had to accede to the workers’ earlier demands by jettisoning the idea of conducting promotion examinations.
    On the issue of hazard allowance, the vice-chancellor told the journalists that only one union, that is, the National Association of Academic Technologists, had the statutory power to draw this allowance since the allowance was embedded in the personnel costs of the respective technologists. According to him, other universities were directed to pay the hazard allowance, “IF THEY COULD”, from their respective Internally Generated Revenue (IGR).
    The vice-chancellor went on to say that, a five-year old institution like Federal University Oye Ekiti has a very sparse IGR base. It was further deposed that this was more so when comparisons were made with first generation universities like the Obafemi Awolowo University, University of Lagos and University of Ibadan. The vice-chancellor wondered where he was expected to get the funds to pay hazard allowance, which was not part of the agreement which NASU and SSANU reached with the Federal Government.
    Meanwhile, the vice-chancellor pointed out that even the sparse IGR base of FUOYE was being compromised by the violent tactics of the striking workers. Such tactics, as he pointed out, included the disruption of activities at the Centre for Pre-Degree Studies, which in fact is one of the main sources of the IGR for the young university.
    According to him, the National Universities Commission had just approved 19 new programmes for the university, such that in relative terms, the Federal University Oye Ekiti could easily be regarded as one of the fastest growing universities in Nigeria.
    He also informed the media gathering that plans were in place to establish two new faculties in the nearest future. These are the Faculty of Pharmacy and the Faculty of Basic Medical Sciences. Indeed and as further deposed by him, come January 25, the university Senate would formally consider and approve the Doctor of Pharmacy, (Pharm. D) programme of the new university. And as if to indicate that this was not a tall dream, it was authoritatively revealed that funds for the new faculties were virtually in place, courtesy of the Federal Government.
    A question was also put to him about the alleged award of arbitrary contracts, and his response was that there were the subsisting institutional frameworks such that, it was impossible to award contracts in an arbitrary way as alleged.
    As regards the allegation that the VC had embarked on frequent overseas trips and that he had travelled to the United States six times in the last year, Soremekun merely laughed this off by contending that he had been to the US on only one occasion since he assumed office.
    On whether N2m was given to each of his management staff for the Yuletide session, he also dismissed this allegation as a mere fabrication. The VC remarked that the ongoing tussle could be likened to a war in which truth is usually the first casualty as in all wars.
    After the session, not a few of the journalists in attendance seemed to have left with the impression that the vice-chancellor was more sinned against than sinning. In my view, this was due to two factors. One, so much has been achieved within the spate of 12 months that only apostles of decadence could attempt to hamper the institution in its strides. Indeed, as I looked round the half campus/half forest campus when I later visited the university, my view was that despite the fact that Soremekun had two predecessors, there was still much to do.
    Second, the hazard allowance which appears to be the main bone of contention is not really his fault, since as pointed out, only technologists have managed to wrest hazard allowance in the form of a formal agreement with the Federal Government. Meanwhile, my own investigation reveals that all the other universities which started at the same time with FUOYE do not pay this hazard allowance.
    Therefore, it is my considered view that the two unions, NASU and SSANU, should sheathe their swords. Rather, their efforts should be directed towards the making of a robust case, before the Babalakin Committee which has just been constituted to re-negotiate the FGN- Agreement with the Academic Staff Unions of Universities and the other unions to ensure a crisis-free academic environment in the institution.

    • Adeyemi writes from Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State.