Academic and Administrative activities were on Tuesday paralysed at the University of Ibadan as the Non-Teaching staff of the institution protest disparity in federal government disbursed earned allowances/earned academic allowances.
The Federal government had disbursed the sum of N18.3billion to pay for earned academic Allowances of twenty-two universities for 2009/2010 while the sum of N4.6billion were allocated to Non-teaching Staff in twenty-four universities.
Lectures were also paralysed as lecturers had to exit lecture halls following news of threat to attack them by the Non Teaching Staff.
Our man gathered that the Vice Chancellor of the Institution, Professor Idowu Olayinka had called a meeting of union executives over the payment of the allowances on Monday evening where he intimated them of the letter he received from the federal government with stipulated amount for Academic staff and the other for non-teaching stating he was going to follow FG’s directive.
At the Monday meeting were Representatives of ASUU led by the Chairman Dr Deji Omole, NASU led by its Chairman Segun Arojo, SSANU by Wale Akinremi, the three Deputy Vice Chancellors, and the Bursar Mr Michael Alatise.
The Vice Chancellor was said to have read the letter from the Federal Government (Ministries of Finance and Education) on the received monies for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances/Earned Allowances adding that he was going to pay as directed by the federal government.
Responding on behalf of the Non-Teaching unions, Chairman SSANU Wale Akinremi said that they had received a directive not to be part of any sharing committee on earned allowances stating that they were aware that it was not problem from within UI but Abuja.
In a letter signed by the Director of Funds, in the Accountant General office (Alexander. M Adeyemi) from the Federal Ministry of Finance to the Vice Chancellor University of Ibadan entitled “Re: ASUU Strike and the Request to Release Earned Academic Allowance” he stated that the sum of N1,626,117,386.20 has been paid into the TSA account of UI for Academic Staff while the sum of N105,709,758.33 was paid for Non-Teaching Staff.
In a letter titled “threat to Life”, the Chairman and Secretary of ASUU, UI, Drs Deji Omole and Peter Olapegba written to the Chairman of the Council on Security and copied to Divisional Police Officer Sango, the duo stated that “I wish to officially bring to your notice that we have been receiving verbal threat to lives hinged on the issues of earned academic allowances in the last few days. You may wish to investigate and take serious steps to secure the lives of our members”.
As at the time of filing this report, Non-Teaching Staff still occupied NISER pack of the institution while gates only one of the three gates was partially opened at 12:30pm.
