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Workers of the Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, in Bayelsa, say only the removal of the Rector, Agbabiaka Lukman, will guarantee industrial harmony in the institution, which has been shut since 11 July.
The workers had kept the institution under lock for alleged violation of the Polytechnic Act by the Rector, who took the three unions to court over labour disputes, whereas the governing council was mandated under the Act to handle labour related matters.
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The workers under the auspices of Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Yenagoa on Tuesday.
They said that the rector walked out of a reconciliatory meeting organised by the Federal Ministry of Labour and declined to sign a Memorandum of Agreement reached at the parley.
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Charles Arogo, chairman of the Federal Polytechnic chapter of SSANIP, said that all three unions are unanimous in the demand for the removal of the rector in solidarity with NASU and joined the protest.
According to him, cases of sack of workers without recourse to laid down procedures and recourse to union, victimisation of union officials and non release of promotion letters to union leaders as well as clandestine employment without requisite budgetary provisions were no longer tolerable.
He said that in 2024, for instance, the unauthorised recruitment of 41 staff members, mostly from the rector’s ethnic group, breached the federal character policy and depleted the personnel budget, causing a salary shortfall crisis.
Mr Arogo alleged that Mr Lukman has displayed a lack of capacity to run the institution, causing the staff, students and stakeholders to seek his removal.
“We joined this move in solidarity with NASU, whose over 400 members’ June salary and union dues for several months were withheld under the guise of ‘no work no pay’ rule.
“The seizure of the salary was illegal because it applies only when a union goes on strike beyond three months. But in this case, the strike was suspended after two months, and the three unions saw this as oppression. That is why we called for a Joint Action Congress (JAC) and raised a 14-point petition to justify our demand for the sack of the rector.
“The JAC of the two unions, NASU and SSANIP, is urging the Federal Government, Federal Ministry of Education, to save Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, from total collapse. Under Lukman’s watch, the student population has dwindled from 3,000 when he was appointed in 2022 to 500 currently,” Mr Arogo said.
On his part, Etebu Ebifiye, chairman of NASU in the polytechnic, said that suing the three unions over routine labour matters was both gross misconduct and a violation of the Polytechnic Act, which must be met with appropriate sanctions.
“There is no place in the Polytechnic Act for litigation over labour disputes with unions, and there are no budgetary provisions for litigation. So, the rector should state how he had been funding the court processes.
“We found out that Lukman acted alone and bypassed both the internal and external members of the governing council who are legally empowered to resolve internal labour disputes. Our findings show that the court case was not even discussed at the last council meeting,” Mr Ebifiye said.
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Mr Ebifiye noted that it was regrettable that rather than call the rector to order, the chairman of the governing council abdicated his responsibility and took the dispute to the Ijaw National Congress for mediation.
For the academic staff, Woyengitonye Abadani, ASUP branch chairman, said that the union withdrew its own services and communicated its decision to the rector on 16 July due to heightened tension and concerns for the safety of its members and the institution’s properties.
Mr Abadani, who restated the commitment of academic staff to work and the development of students, urged the governing council of the polytechnic to rise to the occasion and restore normalcy.
“The Governing Council has oversight functions on the management, and we call on both the internal and external members of the council to resolve these labour disputes, which have lingered since the beginning of the year.
“The Governing Council should suspend the rector, pending an investigation of these heavy allegations against him,” the ASUP chairman said.
When contacted for an update on the face-off, Nimizuo Pereseigha, public relations officer of the Federal Polytechnic, Ekowe, said that the Ijaw National Congress was already brokering a truce and advised the management to withdraw the pending case in court.
He, however, regretted that even though the management agreed to withdraw the case, the ongoing court vacation was an obstacle. He said the case would be withdrawn as soon as the courts resume from vacation.
On the responsibility of the Governing Council to mediate, the PRO said that the chairman of the governing council has visited Bayelsa twice on a peace mission since the institution was shut.
(NAN)
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