Group Urges Gov. Daniel To Meet Lecturers’ Demands

The Education Right Campaign, ERC, has pleaded with Governor Gbenga Daniel of Ogun State and the authorities of the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago Iwoye, to meet the demands of the striking lecturers of the university so that students can resume academic activities.

Comrade Hassan Taiwo Soweto, the National Coordinator of ERC who made this plea at a press conference in Lagos, appealed to parents, guardians and workers to rise up in defence of the students and academic staff of the OOU against the unholy alliance between Governor Daniel and the authorities of OOU.

Soweto identified the mass sack of about 170 academic staff by the OOU management; the withholding of the August and September, 2009 salaries of the lecturers and the “no work, no pay” rule as the factors responsible for the four-month old strike by the lecturers.

“The university council forced a programme of nationalization of academic disciplines on senate, scrapped faculties and departments, all geared towards cutting cost and ending government responsibility to Nigerian students,” he said also contributed to the impasse.

The activist disclosed that before the current strike, the institution was grappling with inadequate teaching staff, inadequate funding and non accreditation of many courses.

According to him, the present admission quota was based on the number of previous staff strength of about 600. ”With the number less than 100, we wonder how OOU will be able to pass NUC accreditation,” he stated.

Soweto called on the state government to immediately implement the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement so that the students can resume classes; recall all sacked staff without loss of pay; halt rationalization and mergers of academic programmes and expand programmes and teaching facilities.

”We also demand adequate funding of education up to 26 percent of the budget of Ogun State and at least 65 percent increase in the subventions to Olabisi Onabanjo University and other state-owned institutions; reduction in OOU school fees to an affordable level; immediate approval and payment by Ogun State government of N40,000 cost of studying allowance to all students; democratic running of OOU and free and functional education at all levels,” he stated.

—Abiose Lukman, Ayoade Rahmon, Olarinde Ayodele & Tunmise Ige