College lecturers declare strike over removal of provost

The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), Federal College of Agriculture, Akure (FECA) chapter, has suspended academic activities over alleged removal of the school’s acting provost, Emmanuel Moyinjesu.

The teachers carried different placards with various inscriptions such as: “Dissolve FECA Governing Board Now”, “Save FECA from Collapse”, “Call ARCN to Order” and “Corruption in FECA, FG Probe FECA” to show their grievances.

Speaking to journalists, Abimbola Ogunyinka, the chairman of FECA ASUP, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Monday in Akure that the removed acting provost had been piloting the affairs of the college peacefully since he assumed office last year.

Mr Ogunyinka alleged that the stipulated rules for appointing a new provost were not followed.

“There is no problem with removing him but they must tell us his offence because the rules say the most senior staff should be appointed as acting provost when there is a vacancy.

“But surprisingly, the newly appointed acting provost is the fourth position on the line and it came to us suddenly just late last Friday.

“We have had many acting provosts in the college and the due process was followed. Why the difference now? Even of recent, the Agric Research College of Nigeria (ARCN) appointed the most senior officer at Federal College of Agriculture, Ibadan,” he said.

Mr Ogunyinka threatened that there would be no academic activities in the college until issues bothering the institution were resolved.

However, the newly appointed acting provost, Fadiyimu Akinyemi, said that protest was normal in any organisation because everyone has right to his or her views,

He said that it was bound to happen, “especially when there is a change of leadership.

“There are bound to be different opinions and views because we have freedom of expression to air our thoughts.

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“But I must tell you that we have other two unions in the college that are not protesting and they are at their duty posts,” he said.

Mr Akinyemi promised that the school management would look into the complaints of ASUP when officially channelled.

“The management is in place. We are together and we have appealed to them. Their grievances should be officially channelled to the appropriate quarters,” he said.

He implored the aggrieved union to allow the existing peace in the institution to continue.

(NAN)