By Ayodele Abere.
The Chairman, Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado-Ekiti, Comrade Kayode Arogudade, has described the current moment as rough and tough for his members.
Comrade Arogudade, who bemoaned the hard times facing his members while addressing journalists at the end of the congress held Thursday at the University campus in Ado-Ekiti, the State capital, said the situation calls for a deeper reflection of activities of events in the past years through prayers.
In his word “the Congress was called and as you’re aware, it was a congress of all the unions on campus. It was a time for us to have a deeper reflection of activities of events in the past years through prayer sessions and review the inhuman things that were done unto us during the festive period. This is one of the few establishments in the state that nobody thought of paying us any kobo during the Christmas. It was a hard time for all of us.
“A time when we had to beg our members to come to school and conduct examinations, a time when we were also preparing for the 2021/2022 first semester of 100 level students simultaneously, meaning teaching two sets of students, writing exam one hand in the interest of the university to make sure we keep the university running. That was the time when members have to go home with empty stomach during the Christmas.
Stressing further, Arogudade noted that towards the new year, subvention for October, 2022, was released by the government and that the subvention was only able to pay 50% of their salaries as they have exhausted the school fees from the students on one hand and on the other hand that their wage bill is now a little bit above 600 million in a month, coupled with a lot of things that have happened in the system. Adding that the University was able to pay 50% of August salary on December 31st which he said was what they have gotten till today and is appalling. Said the Chairman.
According to Arogudade, “We also have children that will be resuming school come Monday, 9th January, 2023. We have responsibilities also at home and bible says love your neighbour as yourself not that you should love your neighbour more than yourself, you can’t keep children at home hungry and you ask us to come to school. But because we understand that it’s the students that will suffer it, we decided to hold a congress. After the prayer session, we took a decision and the decision will be communicated shortly.
“After a very thorough evaluation of the whole thing, and going by the new year message of Mr. Governor who incidentally is an Alumnus, members have appealed that in the honour of Mr. Governor and the strength of his message, we should just give one more week such that by Tuesday, 17th of January, we will reconvene to take a decision.
“Incidentally, several other decisions would have been taken but as a University, we will remain steadfast till that time. And on that day whether or whether not, a decision will be taken and i’m not sure people that are hungry can decide to go home with empty stomach because by then if all other things being equal, we would have gotten a new subvention and it supposed to be on record that by 2022, we have only gotten 50% salary of August. We have twelve months half salary outstanding between 2016 and 2018. In 2018 we have three months full salary outstanding.
Going further, “for our members that are retiring, we have pension deduction 36 months. We have unremitted cooperative deductions. There is no way we can love the University more than ourselves. But for the umpteenth time, going by the strength of the message of Mr. Governor during the new year message and going also by the fact that he is an Alumnus of this University, we will tarry till January 17th to have given management and government opportunity to look at what they can do for this University and after that time, we want all Ekiti people, all Nigerians and all parents who have their children here to hold the Alumni association of EKSU responsible for whatever happens to this University because when they were coming to us, they came with a whole lot of promises and this is the time they should not runaway from what they brought.
“We know the Governor and what he has inherited, I understand. Even if we cannot sympathize with him, we empathize with him but again, the word we will not take is “I will not pay”. But I never get money and this is how I will pay, we are comfortable”. Somebody should sit down with us and tell us how to defend this. We are not asking for all the money.
The Chairman said it should be on record that the 260 million subvention can no longer sustain the University each time they get it and that whatever the university is taking as school fees today is not also sufficient to augment salaries. “More than five months. I’m not sure government is positively aware of increment in school fees, the same way we are not also, because cost of living is increasing, salaries are not increasing.
“So, if government cannot fund, the parents should be ready to fund from their meagre resources but in Ekiti State as a whole, I don’t think government is ready to listen and yield to allowing increment in school fees. I have not seen that body language for now. Said Arogudade.
“Congress of all the unions held this morning and immediately after this time out, the leadership of those unions are going to be having meetings. This time around, it’s not going to be one is at home, one is in school. No, all of us will go home together. But as a union we will still sit down to review those decisions taken by each of the unions before we come up with final collective decision”.
Comrade Arogudade said the next one week, they are expecting coming together of the critical stakeholders who should sit down and think out something.
“Something drastic must happen in this university. Otherwise, this university will become history”.