ASUU
Salahudeen Sekinat Bolanle
OOU Lecturers Protest Poor Condition of Service
Lecturers at Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, on Tuesday staged a peaceful protest over what they described as deteriorating conditions of service and inadequate funding of the institution.
Led by the local chapter chairperson of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Dr. Ganiyu Yinusa, the lecturers called on President Bola Tinubu to sign the reviewed ASUU agreement prepared by the Ahmed Yayale Committee.
The protesters marched to the university’s Senate Building, where they were received by the Deputy Vice Chancellor (Academics), Professor Olatundun Oderinde, who represented the Vice Chancellor, Professor Ayodeji Johnson Agboola. Other principal officers present included the Registrar, Dr. Caleb Orukotan, the University Librarian, Professor Onifade, and the Bursar, Mr. Sowunmi.
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The lecturers carried placards with messages such as: “Pay us our entitlement, not unsolicited loans,” and “Water cannot replace reagents in our laboratories.”
Speaking during the protest, Dr. Yinusa said the demonstration was aimed at pressing home demands concerning poor salaries, academic freedom, university autonomy, and proper funding of public universities. He noted that the last agreement between the union and the Federal Government was signed in 2009, but the reviewed version has remained unsigned despite years of negotiation.
He stressed that the union rejected the proposed Tertiary Institution Staff Support Fund, which would allow lecturers to take loans of up to 10 million, insisting that what they need are competitive salaries and revitalisation funds for public universities.
“Instead of offering loans, the government should pay our members well and invest in university infrastructure, laboratories, housing, and research facilities,” he said.
Yinusa added that the government still owed lecturers three and a half months of withheld salaries from the last strike and urged immediate payment. He warned that failure to sign and Implement the agreement could lead to another nationwide strike.
Responding, Professor Oderinde assured the lecturers that their demands would be communicated to the university management.