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Tag: workers

  • Prepare to resume, Ajimobi tells LAUTECH students, workers

    Prepare to resume, Ajimobi tells LAUTECH students, workers

    •Governor orders reopening of five high schools

    Students and workers of the Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso, Oyo State, which was shut about seven months ago, have been told to prepare for resumption by month end.

    Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi, who announced this on Friday, said he had closed ranks with his Osun State counterpart, Rauf Aregbesola, to break the logjam in the interest of stakeholders.

    LAUTECH is jointly owned by Oyo and Osun, the two states that constituted  old Oyo State before Osun was carved out in 1991.

    A statement by the governor’s Special Adviser on Communication and Strategy, Yomi Layinka, said the decision was reached after Ajimobi’s meeting with the national, zonal and state leadership of the students’ unions on Friday evening.

    The team was led by the Senate President of the National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Salam Olajide; General Secretary, NANS, South-West zone, Olanrewaju Oloja and General Secretary, Joint Campus Committee, NANS, Oyo State, Farouk Musa.

    The governor said the decision to reopen the institution was reached after another round of discussions and commitments by stakeholders, on Friday, which, he said, would be heartwarming to the striking workers.

    The university had been grounded since June 9, last year, when its branches of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU); Non-Academic Staff Union  (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) stopped work in protest against non-payment of accumulated salaries.

    The statement reads: “The governor regretted the fact that despite all efforts at persuading the striking workers to resume they refused to yield grounds.

    “He, however, announced that the schools would be reopened on or before February 1 going by the level of his discussions with his Osun State counterpart, Ogbeni Rauf Aregbesola.

    “With today’s pronouncement, it is hoped that all stakeholders, including the management, staff and students of LAUTECH, will begin to  prepare for full resumption of academic and non-academic activities in the university.”

    The governor also ordered the immediate reopening of the five secondary schools shut in the wake of pupils’ attack on some schools in protest against cancellation of automatic promotion in public schools.

    The affected schools are Isale Oyo Community High School, Oyo; Anglican Methodist Secondary School, Oyo; Oba Adeyemi High School, Oyo; Ojoo High School, Ibadan; and Community Secondary School, Iyana Idi Ose, Ibadan.

    Ajimobi said he took the decision in deference to pleas by stakeholders and respected members of the society that the schools be reopened.

  • NUPENG shuts down Total over sacked workers

    NUPENG shuts down Total over sacked workers

    The Nigeria Union of Petroleum and Natural Gas Workers (NUPENG) yesterday ordered stoppage of loading activities at all Total Nig. Ltd depots nationwide over termination of workers’ appointments.

    A statement signed by Tokunbo Korodo, Southwest chairman of the union, explained that the management of Total had been resisting the unionisation of workers under its contract programme in Lagos, Kaduna and Koko in Delta blending plants.

    He said the management of the oil major had moved further to terminate the appointment of workers who had joined the union in spite of its efforts to resolve the issue amicably.

    “In view of this, the union has directed all workers in Total downstream to stop work until the management allows workers to unionise and slave labour introduced are cancelled. This action should commence immediately,” he said.

    Zonal Vice-Chairman, Southwest chapter of NUPENG, Rotimi Benjamin, said the management of Total had summoned the union to a meeting to resolve the issue.

    Benjamin, however, said the union would not go back on its action until all the issues were resolved.

    A News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) correspondent who visited Total Blending Plant at Kirikiri, Apapa, observed that workers blocked the entrance of the gate with two trailers.

    The workers were seen with various placards bearing inscriptions such as: “Nigerians enslaving Nigerians in Nigeria”, “Total and Jomog want to sack us because we joined NUPENG”.

  • No more strike, Ado Poly students beg workers

    No more strike, Ado Poly students beg workers

    The Federal Polytechnic in Ado-Ekiti (ADO POLY) has been reopened, two months after a workers’ strike. Students are angry that the strike achieved nothing, describing it as a plot to waste their time. TEMITOPE YAKUBU reports.

    LIFE has returned to the Federal Polytechnic in Ado-Ekiti (ADO POLY) after a two-month workers’ strike. The institution was shut following allegation of corruption against management. It was closed down two weeks to the semester examination, causing students’ anguish.

    The workers’ unions accused the Rector, Dr Theresa Akande, of mismanaging the internally-generated revenue (IGR). The unions, comprising the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) accused management of mismanaging N250 million since 2014.

    They also accused the rector of non-implementation of the Consolidated Tertiary Institution Salary Scale (CONTISS) 15, saying it amounted to “gross insensitivity” for management to turn a blind eye to the plight of over 500 workers without portfolio in the school.

    According to ASUP chairman Tunji Owoeye, management deliberately stopped the implementation of CONTISS 15 as directed by the Federal Government. He said: “We want to tell the world that the workers are being marginalised by the rector. We will continue to protest until the school adopts the parity policy of a single system.

    “We have been agitating for the implementation of starting point of salary scale, which is CONTISS 8 in the polytechnic. When CONTISS 15 was introduced in 2009, only the senior staff benefited because people in CONTISS 12 and above were promoted, while those on CONTISS 11 and below were marginalised.”

    The rector denied the allegations, saying there was no substance in them. The Federal Government, she said, had started looking into the issues.

    The unions, the rector said, did not communicate their positions to management before embarking on the indefinite strike, adding that  management has been meeting with them on the way out.

    Dr Akande said: “The Federal Government has set up a Presidential Panel to look into these issues. The fact that I am still the rector despite all their allegations shows that there is no substance in them. The National Board for Technical Education (NBTE), the agency supervising polytechnic education in the country, and the Federal Ministry of Education are looking into the migration issue because it is not a local issue. It affects all federal polytechnics in the country.”

    The Deputy Registrar for Information and Protocol, Mr Adeyemi Adejolu, described the unions’ complaints as “old allegations packaged anew”.

    He said: “The workers’ unions have petitioned the Minister of Education, Department of State Service (DSS), Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and other regulatory agencies. Government is already looking into their allegations. This is not enough reason to shut down the school.”

    CAMPUSLIFE gathered that the workers suspended the action after meeting with representatives of the Federal Ministry of Labour and management to sign an agreement.

    ASUP, in a statement signed by Owoeye, directed the lecturers to resume last Monday. Also, SSANIP and NASUP members held congresses  to discuss the development and aligned with ASUP’s position.

    To most students, the workers’ action was needless. They said there were other means to channel their grievances without closing the school. Students said they did not want to experience a strike again.

    For Helen Kotila, chairperson of the Lagos Female Hall of Residence, the disruption in academic activities had negative impact on students. She said many would have forgotten all they read for the exam before the school was shut.

    Helen, a Higher National Diploma (HND) II Quantity Surveying student, said: “Disruptions in academics usually discourage students from learning. It is not surprising that during strikes, most students are idle and some are inclined towards immoral activities rather than studying. Many have forgotten everything they read and this can negatively affect their academic performances.”

    Olaide Oladayo, an HND 1 student, urged management and the workers’ unions to always consider the impact on students before they disagree.

    She said: “The staff unions should devise good means other than strike to resolve issues.

    Strike should not always be the tool. This is because of the negative effects strikes have on students and the entire academic community.

    “There should be effective communication between workers and management. Staff welfare and other necessary demands should be unanimously tackled by the management and workers’ unions. Dialogue should be adopted while resolving conflict.”

    Tunde Olorungbotemi, HND 1 Accountancy student, believes that reopening the school during the festive period will put students in danger. He said the strike was a plot to waste students’ time, wondering why the workers took the action when the government was attending to their demands.

    “The management and workers’ unions are like electric poles. They know they are going nowhere, but they have wasted students’ precious time and toiled with our future. Reopening the school has put our lives at risk during this festive period. I am upbeat about the resumption but we have students that will want to celebrate Christmas with their family members,” Tunde said.

    Rodiat Lawal, an HND 1 Food Technology student, described the workers’ action as a “waste of time and resources”.

    She said: “The strike was just a waste of time and resources. It really affected the students academically, because many of us didn’t have time to read at home. This may result in low performance in the coming examination.

    “It would be good if management and workers embrace dialogue and have a conclusive meeting on their disagreement to prevent strike. Similar strike in 2015 affected the school calendar seriously and we are still battling with it.”

    Oladapo Ayowale, an Electrical and Electronics student is worried that the school calendar is no longer stable.

    The student praised the parties for finding a common ground that led to the resumption, but called on workers to review their conflict resolution mechanism.

    “My advice for management and workers is to allow dialogue to dictate direction whenever they disagree. They should know that students’ future is at stake when they close down the school and send us home. We don’t want strike again. There should be ways to resolve future disagreements between them, without embarking on strike,” he said.

    Akinkunmi Okanrende, a Surveying and Geo-informatics student, who is presently on industrial training, also described the strike as a waste of time.

    He said: “They have used the strike to waste students’ time, because the workers’ demands were not met before the school resumed. We should ask them why was the shut down in the first place. The strike has given the school a bad image. Admission seekers now see it as an institution where strike is included in their academic calendar yearly.

    “It would be good if management is open to workers and if workers are willing to dialogue. This way, students would be saved from the needless strike that is making their future uncertain.”

     

     

     

  • LASU honours workers at maiden award

    Over 40 members of staff of the Lagos State University (LASU) were honoured at the university’s maiden ‘LASU Excellence Award’ held last Thursday.

    The university’s auditorium, venue of the event, erupted in applause for the awardees who were described by management as ‘exceptional’.

    Some of the awards, which were in both senior and junior categories, included excellence in teaching, best in department/unit, best in faculties and outstanding sportsmen and women.

    There were also awards for those who performed exceptionally as appraised by the Quality Assurance Implementation Committee (QAIC) set up by management earlier in the year to enhance staff performance. Under this category, Mr Sheriff Kehinde Ismail of the Vice Chancellor’s office, and Dr Bosede Amoo of the Audio-visual unit were presented with N250,000 and N300,000 in addition to plaques by the Vice Chancellor, Prof Lanre Fagbohun.

    Former executive secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof Peter Okebukola, who presented plaques to some of the awardees, lauded the management for floating initiatives that inspire the workers to put in their best.

    “We are happy that this is coming up for the first time in the history of the university.This is simply to show that we now have management who regardless of your status, appreciates your contributions to the development of this institution. Besides, it will also fire the desire among workers to put in their individual efforts towards making LASU better,” Okebukola said.

    Okebukola, who chaired the QAIC, said the committee collaborated with the National Universities Commission (NUC) to create the modules used to train the workers.

    He expressed joy that the collaboration in the last eight months had made workers more productive.

    Earlier, Fagbohun said the award was also extended to students whom he lauded for being partners in the university’s rebranding agenda.

    He promised 20 members of the Security Unit who were recognised  an undisclosed cash reward and thanked the Excellence Award Committee for ensuring the selection was fair and unbiased.

    Fagbohun praised workers of the university for doing well in the outgoing year, adding that those rewarded, only ‘went beyond limits’

    “All of us have been pushing the frontiers and so I believe we all deserve a plaque each.

    “If you were part of the awardees, that to me, is a challenge for you to do more; if you are not, it is not a chieftaincy title. If you don’t get this year, you will get next year, only if you can work harder, “he said

    Expressing appreciation on behalf of others, Dr Olufemi Fatile, who emerged first runner up in the ‘overall best teacher’ category, thanked management for the recognition.

    “All of us were doing our bit in LASU without knowing that somebody was recognising our little efforts. We promise to work tirelessly to build the image of the university and encourage others that management is committed to acknowledging our productive best,” Fatile said.

     

  • Ekiti promotes 15,772 workers, pays 2months salaries, Christmas bonus

    Ekiti promotes 15,772 workers, pays 2months salaries, Christmas bonus

    Gov. Ayo Fayose of Ekiti has given approval for the immediate promotion of 15,772 public servants in the spirit of Christmas, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    A statement issued in Ado Ekiti on Sunday and signed by the Chief Press Secretary to the governor, Mr Idowu Adelusi, said the promotion cuts across workers in the local governments, teaching service and the core civil servants.

    The statement said that the beneficiaries consisted mainly of those whose promotions were due since 2012, 2013 and 2014.

    It said the governor had consequently ordered that letters of promotion be given the affected workers without further delay.

    The statement, however, clarified that the promotion status still remained nominal, as the cash backing for the exercise would be effective only from March 2017.

    It announced that all categories of workers in the state had been paid two months salaries in December, while Christmas bonus would be paid immediately after the Christmas holiday.

    The statement quoted the governor as saying that, though, the state was currently grappling with economic challenges, it did not mean that deserving workers should not be recognised for hard work.

    “We won’t deny our workers their dues and entitlements, economic recession or no economic recession, as leaders of the state, we must be fair to all and that is what we are doing

    “Our administration is resolute in giving the best to all Ekiti people, including those in the public service.

    “This month alone, we have paid two salaries, we are also paying Christmas bonus after the holiday

    “We deliberately spaced the payment of the bonus so that after the Christmas holiday, workers will still have something to fall back on,” it said.(NAN)

  • Xmas: Workers battle governors over salaries

    Xmas: Workers battle governors over salaries

    Workers in some states across the country yesterday got  furious over their unpaid salaries. They protested.

    Governors and top civil servants were put under pressure in Ondo, Taraba, Gombe, Bayelsa and Zamfara states as workers got anxious over an imminent Christmas celebration on Sunday.

    President Muhammadu Buhari also yesterday admonished governors to pay workers from the N525b debt-service refund which the states have been getting. He declared as unacceptable the situation in which workers are owed salaries for months.

    In Ondo State, workers led the Accountant General to the bank to facilitate the payment of one month salary approved by Governor Olusegun Mimiko out of the seven months they are being owed.

    Bayelsa workers were angry when they failed to get money from the bank after the government announced the payment of salaries.

    Workers shut down the government secretariat in Taraba over unpaid eight months wages. There were protests in Zamfara and Gombe states.

    Taraba workers under the auspices of the Joint Public Service Negotiating Council (JPSNC) shut down the secretariat to protest the non- payment of salaries and pension.

    Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) Chairman Peter Gambo, who addressed the protesting workers at the gate of the secretariat, decried what he called the government’s continued insensitivity to their plight.

    On Monday, the Government House was shut down by protesting footballers, who were demanding payment of their 21 months salaries.

    Gambo listed the issues in dispute as “illegal deductions from salaries, nonpayment of local government workers and teachers for eight months and subjection of workers to meaningless screening and futile verification by the government.”

    But Governor Darius Ishaku insisted the state is not owing workers.

    “I am not owing anybody,” he told the House of Assembly while presenting the 2017 appropriation bill yesterday.

    But the NLC Chairman alleged that union dues were deducted indiscriminately without being remitted to the unions.

    “The government has shown that the welfare of workers is not its priority.

    “Workers have been subjected to all kinds of belittling treatments in the name of screening and verifications that have not yielded any fruits apart from subjecting workers to extreme hardship.

    Head of Service Samuel Angyu, who addressed the workers, said the government was aware of the complaints and was already putting measures in place to address the grievances.

    The protesters were carrying placards with inscriptions, such as “One year of impunity and insensitivity must stop”; “Salary is a right not a privilege”; “Starter Up must go”; “ Pensioners have right to a dignified living, not humiliation from the government they served”, among others.

     Ondo State workers took Account-General (AG) Felix Ajibokun to the bank to begin the payment of workers’ salaries.

    The aggrieved workers, who had earlier picketed the A-G’s office at Alagbaka, Akure, the state capital, said they were being owed six months salaries.

    They were led by their Joint Negotiating Council (JNC) Chairman, Mr. Sunday Adeleye, the State chairmanship of the NLC, Mrs.Bosede Daramola, and other union chiefs.

    According to them, they “begged” the government for one month salary to enable them celebrate Christmas, adding that Governor Olusegun Mimiko directed the AG to pay them,

    but Ajibokun, who is expected to retire from service today, allegedly refused to pay.

    Adeleye told reporters: “About four days ago, we met with the governor and the Commissioner for Finance. They directed the AG to pay the workers’ salaries so that everybody could go home with something.

    “Since then, we have been coming here, but he has been avoiding us, until today (yesterday) when we asked him when he would pay us, but he said no worker will be paid until after Christmas.

    “For your information, this is a man who will be retiring from service tomorrow(today) and the system is this, he is the only one who has the legal right to pay workers and the moment he retires, it will take the government up to three weeks to appoint another AG.

    “Let me tell you, people are dying. What manner of parent are you, when you cannot buy your child a T-shirt?

    “We will continue to keep vigil on these premises until the AG is ready to pay the workers.”

    Ajibokun, however, blamed poor banking network for the delay in payment.

     In Bayelsa, the government also blamed it all on the banks.

    A statement yesterday by Commissioner for Finance Maxwell Ebibai said the inability to pay workers was due to “lack of cash in various banks in the state.

     “It is indeed sad but also worthy to note that it is not the fault of the state government as it is on record that the governor did fulfil his promise of ensuring that civil servants get their salaries before the Yuletide celebration, but the situation that is been faced right now in the banks is applicable in other states and not only in Bayelsa State.”

     He said the government had been interfacing with “the banks to ensure that civil /public servants and Bayelsans in general would receive their entitlement to ease the pain and stress that they may face.”

    In Zamfara, the 1,400-yet-to-be-paid workers since 2014  protested.

    The workers, under the aegis of “May 2014 Civil Service Forum (G1400)’’, took their protest to the House of Assembly.

    The leader of the forum, Luqman Majidadi, told reporters that legal action remained the only option left for the workers, having exhausted all other avenues in the last two- and-a-half years.

    He said: “We have notified all relevant government agencies, held interactions with top government officials, traditional and religious leaders and other stakeholders to no avail. We have now resolved to seek other means of seeking redress.”

    Majidadi condemned how Governo rAbdulaziz Yari had treated the workers since their recruitment in 2014.

    “We were recruited after a very thorough screening conducted by the State Civil Service Commission in May 2014. The process was very tedious, because after obtaining the application forms for free, we sat for a written examination, interviewed and we went through eight screenings before collecting our appointment letters. For 32 months, we have not been paid any salaries,” he said.

    House Committee on Civil Services Chairman Lawal Dogon-Kade, said the lawmakers were working hard to ensure that the impasse was resolved.

    In Adamawa, Governor Mohammed Bindow promised to pay the outstanding four months salaries of teachers.

    Bindow, who did not however specify a date, made the promise in Girei while addressing staff of Government Secondary School, Girei, during a visit to the school.

    He said: “We have declared a state of emergency on education and the welfare of teachers is very important for it to succeed.

    “I want to assure all teachers in Adamawa that all their arrears will be paid very soon,” Bindow said.

    Teachers in Gombe State yesterday cried out over unpaid three to four months salaries.

    They urged Governor Ibrahim Dankwambo to consider the harsh economy and pay their salaries, especially now at Christmas.

    The teachers, who pleaded for anonymity, said they had not been paid in the last three to four months and a solution is not in sight.

    Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT) Chairman Usman Dauda Kwadon, pleaded for patience, saying that the situation would soon be resolved.

    He said the first set of teachers was owed about six to seven months because they banked with community and micro-finance banks which were not online.

    Kwadon said that the problem had been resolved and their salaries had started coming in. “Some received two months once and others one month,” he said.

    The chairman added that the second category were the 3,800 whose names were removed from the payroll because they were named as ghost workers due to a mix-up in the list submitted for the workers’ verification.

    The committee constituted to look into their case had finished its work and was compiling its report, he said.

  • Amosun and Ogun workers

    Wednesday, December 21 was another red letter day in Ogun State. In one iconic gesture, the Ibikunle Amosun-led administration devoted a whopping sum of N12.5 billion to clear the arrears of gratuities and cooperative deductions of the workforce. A fragment of the amount goes to offset the severance package of the political office holders under the Otunba Gbenga Daniel-led administration and last dispensation. This is aside the payment of December 2016 salaries and bonus to the workers.

    This is big news for many reasons. Nigeria is in economic recession, exacerbated by the unprecedented plunge in the price of crude oil in the international market. We all know the crisis going on across the states of Nigeria in terms of salaries. While Ogun is not immune to the realities of the recession, the state government has never defaulted in the payment of monthly salaries to its workforce.

    Not many compatriots actually know that the Amosun government began payment of gratuities to retired workers from 2008. That is three clear years before he was elected in 2011. Some N24 billion was expended on this, including inherited deductions.

    I recall the argument then. “Mr Governor, please concentrate on your own tenure. You were not the one that owed those workers. That amount is enough to settle all gratuities during your own term!” But Amosun demurred, “These people are Ogun indigenes. They have served the state meritoriously. Yes, I did not owe them. But they have to be paid. They deserve to be paid!”

    No one, in its wildest imagination, had dreamt of the current recession. But the Amosun government was proactive. It introduced immediately Single Treasury Account and e-payment. This shot up the revenue of the state geometrically. In the Ministry of Commerce alone, the income generated suddenly rose from the average of N45 million per annum under the previous government to N550 million per  annum (representing 1,122% increase) within a space of one year  – all simply by blocking the loopholes in the old system and introducing a cashless policy! That percentage increase in one ministry alone is staggering! The new government considerably reduced the salaries of political office holders in addition to being among the few states having the lowest number of such office holders.

    Thus the Internally Generated Revenue of Ogun State rose from N750 million monthly under the former administration to N5 billion within a short space of time.

    The World Bank Doing Business Report of 2014, which rated Ogun among the five states that made the biggest strides in terms of ease of doing business in Nigeria, is enough testimony to the economic transformation brought about by the current administration. Today, Ogun has become the industrial hub of Nigeria due to the enabling environment provided for business by the Amosun government. Over 110 multi-billion naira companies have berthed in Ogun in the last five years. The latest is the Palms Shopping Malls, whose first plaza in Ogun State (Shoprite), the biggest in the country.

    Therefore, if Ogun has been able to stay afloat during the current financial difficulties in Nigeria, and has enjoyed industrial harmony, let the reader understand the road it had marched economically in the last five years. Ogun is also affected by the current storms but never overwhelmed!

    All the 36 states of the federation must appreciate the government of President Muhammadu Buhari for its magnanimity, transparency and commitment to due process. Unlike the previous practice, where money was paid to only PDP states, all the 36 states of the federation are benefiting from funds released by the Federal Government to cushion the effects of the current recession. And one must immediately add that things began to fall apart economically in Nigeria since 2013. Everything was blamed on oil theft by the then government. Nigerians now know the truth – how billions of naira meant for development were squandered. Had they been well invested, such investments would have stood the country in good stead during the current drastic fall in global oil prices. As I once observed, we sowed the wind under the previous governments and we are now reaping the whirlwind.

    As the Secretary to the Ogun State Government, Barr Taiwo Adeoluwa, opined at a press conference on Wednesday, the Amosun government will continue to abide by the Memorandum of Understanding it signed with the labour unions. It has even now surpassed the expectations of the MoU.

    Another point that may not been known to the public is that the current government, in 2011, increased the salaries of workers. The rise almost doubled the wage bill of the state. And not just the state workers but local council’s as well. The argument of the governor has remained the same: “ Ogun workers are the best in the country, and there must be a commensurate reward for that.” Hence, Ogun, despite being number 25 out of 36 states in terms of the size of income from the Federation Account, pays the highest salaries to workers! This did not start today. It did not start yesterday, but since 2011. One is, therefore, shocked to the marrow that the present gesture to workers could be denigrated by some opposition elements in order to score a political point. But they are adept at hitting below the belt and scoring an offside goal. And we know the result of an offside goal – it comes to nought! While these detractors join the “Internet millipedes” to corrupt the public space with their half-truths and outright lies, Amosun is busy at his desk thinking and deploying strategies to further develop the state. As Ambassador Chris Cooter, Canadian High Commissioner to Nigeria observed in April 2013, “The governor has been emphasizing that his administration is very particular about hard work. Here we are on a Sunday, I look at the construction going on, definitely, I am impressed. It is going to transform the state, no doubt. Whether it is canal, the road network, health or education, clearly, I can see a demonstration of the ‘can do’ attitude…”

    And while these “cold and timid souls” are asleep, snoring, Amosun is awake reading the feedback from the masses, who constantly send him messages about their views – and he reads them all and acts accordingly. Little wonder the bond that exists between him and the people.

    In the immortal words of Theodore Roosevelt in April, 1910, “It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly… who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat.”

     

    • Soyombo writes from Abeokuta via densityshow@yahoo.com
  • Salaries: Ondo workers drag A-G to banks

    Salaries: Ondo workers drag A-G to banks

    Workers in Ondo State on Thursday forcefully dragged the Account-General (AG), Mr. Felix Ajibokun to banks to begin the process of payment of workers’ salaries.
    The aggrieved workers, who earlier picketed the A-G office at Alagbaka Akure, the state capital, are being owed six months salaries.
    They were led by their Joint Negotiating  Council (JNC) Chairman, Mr. Sunday Adeleye and the State Chairman, Mrs. Bosede Daramola and other union leaders.
    They are pleading the government for one month salary to enable them celebrate the Christmas.
    The state governor, Olusegun Mimiko was said to have directed the AG to pay the workers.
    But, Ajibokun, who is expected to retire from service today (Thursday), had allegedly refused to commence the payment.
    Adeleye, while speaking with reporters, said the union leaders recently met Governor Olusegun Mimiko and they both resolved that the workers should be paid a month for them to have money to celebrate the Christmas.
    He said “about four days ago, we met with the governor and the Commissioner for Finance and the AG was directed to pay the workers salaries so that everybody can go home with something.
    ” Since then, we have been coming here but he has been avoiding us until today (yesterday)when we asked him when he will pay us, but he said no workers will be paid until after Christmas.
    “For your information, this is the man that will be retiring from service on Friday and the system is this, he is the only who has the legal right to pay workers and the moment he retires, it will take government up to three weeks to appointment another AG.
    “Let me tell, people are dying. What manner of parent are you, when you cannot buy your child a T-shirt.
    “We will continue to keep vigil on this premises until the AG is ready to pay the workers”.
    Ajibokun, however blamed poor banking network for the reason for the delay of the payment.

  • FUNAAB recalls sacked workers

    The Governing Council of the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), has reversed its decision on the sack of 23 members of staff of the university.

    The decision was taken at its 91st Meeting held at the National Universities Commission (NUC), Abuja.

    The workers, all members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), were sacked last month.

    In a communiqué signed by the Acting Registrar and Secretary to Council, Mr. Obafemi Oginni, the Council directed the affected workers to forward a Letter of Appeal to the Secretary, Council Committee on Investigation of the Lingering Industrial Unrest and Tension, Acting Registrar’s Office between last Friday and Monday.

    The Council Committee on Investigation of the Lingering Industrial Unrest and Tension was constituted at the same meeting to receive appeals from aggrieved members of staff; investigate and identify the remote and immediate causes of the unrest and tension, as well as identify the institutional and structural factors responsible for the unrest.

    Others are: to identify any other predisposing factors to the unrest; to recommend immediate measures for rectifying the current situation; to recommend lasting measures and strategies for conflict-resolution in the university; to make any other recommendations, which may be germane to the maintenance of order and good governance in the university; to ascertain the culpability of persons and groups in the crisis and to propose appropriate sanctions and deterrence for such persons and groups so identified.

    The council directed all members of staff on strike to resume work and avoid any conduct that could disturb the smooth running of the university.  It also urged all parties to withdraw all civil cases in the courts to allow the Committee function properly.

    It noted that Prof Oyewole, remains the Vice-Chancellor of the university.

     

  • Bank workers clean Erekesan market

    Bank workers clean Erekesan market

    Workers of Sterling Bank temporarily abandoned their official duties to carry out community service by cleaning up the Ado-Ekiti Main Market, otherwise known as the Erekesan.

    Armed with shovels, rakes, brooms and other equipment, the bankers stormed the Post Office Roundabout at 6:30 a.m. and cleared heaps of garbage and cleaned the drainages in the vicinity.

    The gesture was part of the firm’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) to the people of its area of operations.

    The effort also was aimed at raising the aesthetic value of Ado-Ekiti, prevent breakout of epidemic diseases and improve the city’s cleanliness.

    Speaking during the exercise which lasted for three hours, the bank’s Regional Manager (South West), Mr Abiodun Tomomero, said the programme was also an avenue through which they identified with the people of the city.

    Tomomero, who said the exercise was taking place in 14 states of the federation, added that  the bank would also intervene in other critical sectors such as education and  tourism to boost the state’s human capital development as well as shore up the  resources accruing to it.

    He said the bank had demonstrated  its corporate obligation to the state by building a modern e-library at the College of Education, Ikere-Ekiti, saying the facility is now used by members of staff  of the college and workers of the state civil service.

    “We have discussed with the state waste management agency on those areas that are strategic and prone to dirtiness and we discovered that Oja Oba Market is the right place.

    “Cleanliness, they say, is next to Godliness. We have to make our environment clean. We should not rely on government alone to do everything, because this may bring about breakout of diseases. We are operating in Ekiti and this constitutes part of our noble contributions to this state,” he said.

    Another top executive of the bank, Mr Olatunji Adeyemi, revealed that  members of staff of the bank are participating in the exercise, adding that the programme will create awareness among the people on the need to accord the issue of sanitation a priority.

    The General Manager, Ekiti State Waste Management Agency, Mr Olajide Borode, said every area suspected to be prone to breakout of epidemic diseases within the state capital were being fumigated at regular intervals by the agency.

    Borode appealed to the people to stop sabotaging government’s efforts at making Ekiti clean by refraining from indiscriminate garbage disposal and deposition of sewage inside canals and ditches.