Staff strikes paralyse UI

Tuesday, September 12, 2017 12:23 am

University of Ibadan

Gbenro Adesina/Ibadan

In line with the decision of the national body of the non academic staff of Nigeria universities, the staff of the University of Ibadan, UI, ensured their offices were under lock and keys on Monday.

The non academic staff under the umbrella of Joint Action Committee is made up of: the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT, and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU.

Faculties, departments, Postgraduate School, Kenneth Dike Library and other libraries, classroom, halls of residence and even the distance learning centre of the university were all locked and deserted as classrooms, offices, laboratories, libraries were not opened for academic activities.

By 8am this morning, the non academic staff converged at former NISER Park, in front of the Vice Chancellor’s Office building for a congress that lasted several hours. The congress venue was jam-packed as the members of the unions were eager to know what the next step of action would be.

After the deliberations, the leadership of the unions told the staff to go to their different offices to pick their items and go home to await further directives.

It will be recalled that activities on the campus had been partially grounded for about a month due to the on-going ASUU strike. With the non academic strike, owners of businesses on the campus, commercial vehicles and motorcycles owners and other stakeholders are lamenting their fate as business activities ground to a halt with no hope of quick resolution of the strike actions embarked on by the various unions.

The unions said that the strike action has become unavoidable because the Federal Government renege to execute the 2009 agreements it has with the union as well as its refusal to obey the judgement of the National Industrial Court that called for the reinstatement of sacked teachers of universities staff schools.