The Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State has been shut indefinitely following disruption of activities in the institution by staff and lecturers. T
The Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo, Ondo State has been shut indefinitely following disruption of activities in the institution by staff and lecturers. This comes after lecturers under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) and other staff of the polytechnic refused to work over unpaid entitlements and salaries. The staff were also said to have disrupted the students’ examination which prompted the management to announce a closure of the polytechnic until further notice.
The ASUP chairman in the institution, Mr. Rafiu Ijawoye accused the management of the school of not paying attention to the welfare of his members. Ijawoye alleged that the management refused to pay their backlog of salaries after allegedly receiving N1.7 billion from the state government, adding that the promotion exercise for lecturers of the Polytechnic had not been conducted since 2017. He also called on Governor Rotimi Akeredolu to appoint a substantive rector for the institution, saying that would save the system from collapse.
He said, “We decided to have a peaceful rally against the opposition and oppression of the school management on the issue of welfare of members. I’m bringing to the attention of the public the precarious situation and the danger looming in the polytechnic community. It is unfortunate that management is insensitive to the plight of the workers. We only believe that the system must move forward. This is a collective struggle because if accreditation for our courses were withdrawn as a result of non-payment of salaries, it will be a bad omen for the system.
“The governor has done his best in the last few months in bailing us out. Before the last accreditation exercise, the management was owing us about eight months salaries and the government released N1.7 billion for payment of arrears and other emoluments. But it was unfortunate that the management because of its selfish interest, withheld N500 million out of this money which could have reduced these salaries arrears. What did they use the money Mr. Governor gave them for?
“Aside that, 2017 and 2018 promotion is still hanging. We are not second class citizens and it is unfair of the management to withhold our promotion. It is not a privilege but our right. It is on that note that we are expressing our grievances.”
In a statement, the polytechnic’s Acting Registrar, Sule Atiku, students were ordered to vacate the institution by 3pm today (Tuesday 18th June). The statement reads;
“On behalf of the Governing Council Management, I have the mandate to announce to the general public that Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo is hereby closed down until further notice. In view of this development, I wish to intimate that all students of the institution are hereby advised to vacate the institution not later than 3:00pm today 18th June, 2019. This closure has become imperative in order for Council/Management to forestall the breaking down of law and order.”
