Authorities of the University of Ibadan (UI) have accused the leaders of the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) of insincerity with their members.
But the UI-ASUU Chairman Dr Olusegun Ajiboye said no amount of provocation would distract the union’s members from the struggle to revitalise university education.
He said: “The leadership of ASUU has been opened to the members. We told them everything they need to know. The position of ASUU in the University of Ibadan is that the money should not be shared until after the strike.
“It’s like when a hunter went into the bush for meat and got some. While he was still in the bush searching for more game, the people at home said they wanted to share the meat he provided. I’m saying, let us wait until the end of the strike.
“The core struggle of ASUU’s current strike is funding, although our earned allowances is a component of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement. But we deserve it. Why are you in a rush to share?
“The government, which said it had no more, brought out N30 billion and said ‘take it or leave it’. But we said on our agreement we stand. The same government added N10 billion to it. We still know that more is coming.
“We are committed to the revitalisation of the public university system through increased funding. We are not going to get distracted on this.”
On the released N2.1 billon, Dr Ajiboye said ASUU members knew that their leaders had been opened to them.
A source in the university’s management, which spoke in confidence, alleged that the ASUU leaders were causing trouble on the campus by deceiving their members on the truth about the money.
The source said: “Let me tell you, when the money came, the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Isaac Folorunso Adewole, called the leaders to agree on the sharing formula. The leaders told the VC that the management should not share the money because the ASUU strike was still on. Has the strike now been called off?
“Why did they (union leaders) not tell their members that the money could only be shared after the strike?”
When the agitation to share the money became more strident, the source said, the VC asked a committee to come up with a sharing formula.
Three formulas were reportedly proposed.
The first is the original agreement formula, which would exclude many people from benefitting from the money. The second is the University of Benin (UNIBEN) formula and the third is on a certain percentage.
The source said: “The VC charged the committee to come up with the one that would be accepted. But do you know that the committee has not submitted its report? Why did the leaders fail to tell their members the truth?
“They know the kind of VC they have. Prof. Adewole is a worker-friendly VC. Last year, he paid them special allowance, which equalled their salaries. How could such a man now withhold the money?
“The union leaders are to blame. They are just blackmailing the VC. I don’t know why the leaders could not tell the whole truth to their members…”
SSANU/NASU leaders told the members yesterday that the money would be paid tomorrow, when the VC is expected to return from an official trip.
Source: The Nation
