The Governing Council of the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti has sacked five senior staff of the institution on an allegation bordering on the occupation of illegal positions on the College’s Management.
Those affected are the Senior Deputy Bursar, Mr. Adebayo F. I, Senior Deputy Registrars Mr. Onifade J, Mr. Omole R. S, Mrs. Momoh B. S. and Mrs. Adeusi F. A.
In separate reactions, however, members of the Non Academic Staff Union and Senior Staff Union of Colleges Of Education in Nigeria have rejected the procedures adopted to sack the affected persons.
NASU members in the College on Tuesday began a seven-day protest to demand the payment of their unremitted salary deductions by the school management led by Mojisola Onyarekhua.
The Union members also protested against the governing council and faulted the visitation panel’s report on the institution and the subsequent sack of some employees of the College.
While speaking with newsmen, the Chairman of SSUCOEN at the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti Branch, Comrade Olusona Michael explained that “the governing council has taken an unethical action against members of SSUCOEN by disengaging some members of staff in an unmeritorious manner; members that have not attained retirement age, members that are the best hands in administration in our college. That is what brought about the action that happened on our college”.
“The resolution of the congress is that the governing council and the management must reverse the actions they have taken by reinstating all the five sacked senior staff of the college within the seven-day ultimatum the unions resolved to give both the governing council and the management rising from an emergency congress of the unions held. The union at the congress moved motions passing votes of no confidence on both the governing council and the management of the College as a result of the sack of five senior staff and the 11months deductions and five months salary arrears being owed the workers of the college within the short period of time the new governing council was instituted by the governor.
It was alleged by the unions that in less than a period of 3 months, they have spent more than N34 million. That is why we are passing votes of no confidence on the governing council and the management. Unless they start sitting without sitting allowance, we will not withdraw the votes of no confidence we have passed on them”.
Comrade Olusona Michael revealed that “the senior members of staff were disengaged from work after a report of the white paper that states that their positions should be reviewed. And in law, if you are going to review, it means that the laws that established them should be examined whether it is relevant or not relevant. The union believes the laws are still very useful because it is an extant law that emanated from the National Commission of Colleges of Education which was signed in the year 2016 and became effective in 2017 in the College of Education, Ikere Ekiti when it was approved”.
Continuing, he said: “if the governing council and the management fail to hearken to the demands of the union; three things will happen, firstly, the unions in the college will embark on an indefinite strike; secondly, the unions vow to dent the image of the governing council and the management and thirdly, the unions also threatened to pursue the case at the industrial arbitration panel to a logical conclusion”.
The South West Zonal Chairman of SSUCOEN, Mr. Ebun Atinuke, while addressing journalists during the protest, blamed the governing council for the current travails of the staffs affected by the sack. He maintained that the unions will consult with the governing council and the management of the college and that if the consultations do not work out, they will be forced to resort to confrontations to achieve their goals. The resolutions of the unions (NASU and SSCOEN), reached at the end of the emergency congress will be officially communicated to the governing council and the management of college”.
Packaged by Emmanuel Adeniran
