10th February, 2016
GBENRO ADESINA/IBADAN
In what appears to be the first baptism of fire for the administration of the 12th Vice Chancellor of the University of Ibadan, Professor Abel Idowu Olayinka, who resumed office about two months ago, the premier university witnessed a shut down Wednesday by the members of staff.
As early as 7am, the non-academic staff of the institution including, Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), commenced a warning strike to show their displeasure for the non-payment of certain allowances to the members of staff.
The unions barricaded all the entrances into the institution and this paralysed activities and caused major disruption of vehicular movement especially along Ojoo-Sango Road.
Mostly affected were schools located within the campus including International School, Ibadan, Baptist Primary School, and the Staff School as some parents who brought their kids to school had to take them back while some parents trekked with their kids to their respective children’s schools.
According to one of the staff, the new administration did not carry the unions along unlike his predecessor, Professor Isaac Adewole who had an agreement with the unions to pay certain amount of the earned allowances of the staff with their monthly salaries but this new administration did not even deem it fit to let the unions know that there will be a change in this arrangement as the allowances were not paid.
Our source said, “the earned allowances are paid with monthly salary. But when we received the alert that the salary has been paid, it was discovered that it was paid without the allowance.
“This we are not ready to take and that is why we have to shut down the system so as to let him know that we will not joke with our welfare. We have bills to settle and that he should know.”
Responding on the protest, the institution’s spokesman, Tunji Oladejo questioned the justification of the strike action, saying that it was unnecessary.