The Educational Workers Union of Universities (ASUU), Benin Zone on Tuesday decried the systemic oppression and persecution of its members in some universities, perpetrated by institutional powers and state authorities.
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Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen, Zonal Coordinator, Benin Zone of ASUU, in a press release, warned that the event is antithetical to industrial peace and concord within the universities, on condition that the egregious victimization undermines the very material of educational freedom and concord.
“Sufficient is sufficient of the victimization, unlawful and wrongful sack, repression, deliberate seizure of salaries, witch-hunting, and persecution of our members in Lagos State College (LASU), Ojoo; Kogi State College (KSU), Anyingba; Ebonyi State College (EBSU), Abakaliki; Ambrose Alli College (AAU), Ekpoma; the Federal College of Expertise, Owerri (FUTO), and Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu College (COOU), Igbariam,” he mentioned.
The Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Benin Zone, Igbafen, in commemoration of the Union’s maiden Victimized Lecturers’ Day held in Benin Metropolis mentioned that in these universities “a few of our members have been illegally sacked, others have had their salaries and promotion withheld for unjustifiable causes.”
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The Union at its Nationwide Govt Council (NEC) assembly of Seventeenth-18th August 2024 on the College of Ibadan, adopted September 10 of yearly as a date or day to carry rallies and manage solidarity actions throughout college campuses to attract nationwide and world consideration to the hardship and struggling of victimized lecturers in Nigerian public universities.
Igbafen who condemned the unjustifiable sackings, wage seizures, and repression of our colleagues in LASU, KSU, EBSU, AAUE, FUTO, and COOU mentioned the silence of the state governments and college administrations is complicity on this injustice.
The ASUU coordinator mentioned, “On this inaugural Victimized Lecturers’ Day, we stand in solidarity with our besieged members, demanding an finish to this tyranny, We name upon the authorities to stop their assault on educational freedom and reinstate our wrongfully terminated colleagues with fast impact.”
Igbafen insisted that the perpetuation of victimization imperils the very essence of our universities, reworking them into websites of oppression moderately than sanctuaries of data.
‘We implore the federal and state governments to intervene decisively, lest this most cancers of repression metastasize, irreparably damaging our educational panorama,” he mentioned
The ASUU Zonal Coordinator bemoaned the struggling being skilled by the 5 victimized/sacked union leaders in LASU and demanded their fast reinstatement with out additional delay with the fee of their accrued entitlements.
Additionally, the Union condemned the Lagos and Edo State Governments for his or her refusal to launch stories of the visitation panel to their universities in 2020 and 2021, respectively to mitigate the excessive stage of victimization, repression, and struggling of sacked members.
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Igbafen who took a swipe on the college administrations at EBSU, AAUE, FUTO and COOU with their state and federal governments, insisted that their actions and inactions had inflicted untold hardship on lecturers and union leaders because of the indignities of repression, deliberate seizure of salaries and intimidation.
He referred to as for the fast cease to the persevering with victimization of ASUU members.
The Union warned towards delay by the Federal and State Governments to deal with the issue of victimization and persecution of members within the affected universities and urged the state universities and authorities in FUTO to provide their universities a breath of contemporary air by taking pressing steps to resolve all lingering issues of unlawful/wrongful sack, victimization and deliberate seizure of salaries.
The Benin zone of ASUU includes College of Benin (UNIBEN), Benin Metropolis; Ambrose Alli College (AAU), Ekpoma; Adekunle Ajasin College (AAU), Akungba-Akoko; Olusegun Agagu College of Science and Expertise (OAUSTECT), Okitipupa; Delta State College (DELSU), Abraka; Federal College of Petroleum Sources (FUPRE), Effurun; College of Delta (UNIDEL), Agbor; Delta State College of Science and Expertise (DSUST), Ozoro and Dennis Osadebe College (DOU), Asaba.
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