Students in Ogun State have called on Governor Dapo Abiodun to pay the lecturers and staff of the Tai Solarin College of Education, Omu Ijebu, who they said were dying of poor welfare.
The students, under the aegis of the National Association of Nigerian Colleges of Education Students (NANCES), condemned what they termed “the lackadaisical posture of the Ogun State Government towards TASCE as well as the mismanagement of the institution by the Dr Lukmon Kiadese-led authority.”
While saying silence will no longer be golden when destruction of public education and goodwill is continuous in a state known as the bedrock of education in the country, NANCES recalled that the crisis rocking the institution is dated to back when the Governor Gbenga Daniel administration created the Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED) out of the foremost college and relocated it Omu.
“The creation of TASUED would have been a very progressive idea, but the lack of financial plans to sustain both TASCE and TASUED had only resulted in a crisis for both institutions. While TASUED has managed to survive albeit in a bad way, TASCE could not manage the welfare of staff nor witness any development,” the association said in a statement made available to newsmen on Wednesday.
According to the statement signed by NANCES’ National Deputy Senate President, Comrade Abiola Saheed, the crisis became deeper when former Governor Ibikunle Amosun failed in his attempt to reverse the creation of TASUED 2012.
This, it was said, “created only worse situations as the staff were owed as much as about 50 months salaries and arrears.”
Expressing disappointment in Gov Abiodun, the students leader stated that, “With the emergence of Governor Dapo Abiodun and his public statement on having interest in resolving the crisis rocking the institution, one would think the glorious days are back judging from how he was quick to set up a visitation panel to make enquiries and reports on the crisis in TASCE, but it could only take few months to realise it was just a political stunt and populist agendum.”
Saheed added that, “This is made known to us through the lackadaisical attitude of the government towards fulfilling the promises the Governor made to the staff and students of the institution on assumption of office in 2019 and the failure to implement the recommendations of the Professor Kamaldeen Balogun-led visitation panel since 2019.”
The students body maintained that, “One of the fundamental recommendations of the panel is that three months out of the backlogs of salary should be paid instantly.
“Disappointedly, the government only paid half of the recommended three months. Since resumption in 2019, only half payment of salary are made to the staff with no payment about the 50 months backlogs, whatsoever.
“It will interest the public to know that some members of staff of the institution have died, while some are battling life-threatening illnesses as a result of poor welfare and non-payment of these backlogs.
“Rather than listening to the demands of the staff of the institution as well as constituting a capable management for the institution, the government had decided to sack the radical leaders of the staff associations, while elongating the tenure of Dr Kiadese. Thus, we condemn in totality and demand for a change in the leadership of the management of the institution as Dr Kiadese has shown that he has nothing good to offer the institution in terms of welfarism and development.”
In their request, the students asked Gov Abiodun to reinstate the workers that were sacked, to create a model to pay all backlogs or they would shut down the government secretariat at Okemosan, Abeokuta in the next seven days.
“We are unequivocally demanding that the government of Dapo Abiodun should as a matter of urgency reinstate all unjustly sacked staff and present a realistic model for payment of all backlogs of salaries.
“We have resolved to shutdown activities of the state Secretariat should the government fail to fulfil these demands within seven working days,” it was stated.
