OOU senior staff protest anti-worker policies by vice-chancellor

On Tuesday, the Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State chapter of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities protested the Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ayodeji Agboola’s alleged highhandedness.

The union claimed that the vice-chancellor modified the university’s laws, which affected congregation elections to the Senate and other standing committees.

On Tuesday, senior staff members, led by their Chairman, Dr Abiodun Lamina, stormed the university’s Senate building, which served as the venue for the congregation elections, demanding that the vice-chancellor’s unilateral actions be reversed.

The union stated that the actions were illegal, harmful to the campus community, and should not be used to conduct elections.

Lamina said the VC attempted to change the university laws without proper consultation or approval.

“This is not the first time; this is not the second time. We have written several letters to him, urging him to follow due process, but he insists that nobody can stop him,” Lamina stated.

The union leader voiced concern that the vice-chancellor’s actions were creating divisions inside the university, particularly among teaching and non-teaching staff.

According to the union, the VC allegedly stipulated that only employees who had a degree at the time of their employment could be members of the congregation, excluding those who got their degrees after joining the university.

This move, according to Lamina, was aimed at diminishing the influence and presence of non-teaching staff among various statutory committees of the university.

“The reason for this protest is because our Vice-Chancellor, Prof Ayodeji Agboola, has refused to listen to our pleas over the illegal clauses he just introduced into the laws of the university regarding the congregation elections into the Senate, university council, among other committees of the university.

“The position of the law is that a degree holder who is a member of SSANU is a member of the congregation and can participate in these elections but the VC, in the new law, said only those who were employed as a degree holder could now be members of the congregation.

“But we have said that this draconian rule will not stay, that it smacks of injustice because many members of SSANU who were employed as National Diploma holders, Higher National Diploma holders have gone ahead to have their degrees, some with Masters degrees.

“We don’t know why the VC is hell-bent on creating unnecessary crises where there should be none. We have written several letters on this but he has done nothing,” he stated further.

He stated that through the protest, the union was notifying members of the public, notably Ogun State Governor Dapo Abiodun, to intervene in the matter.

In response, the vice-chancellor said that the matter was settled, adding that he did not change or defy any edict of the university.

Replying to the enquiries sent to his WhatsApp, Prof Agboola said, “We have resolved the matter. Be rest assured, l have not changed or flouted any provision of the edict of the university.

“All staff that were re-graded, upgraded and converted from one cadre to the other were included in the list.”