The Peoples Democratic Party, Oyo State chapter has described the decision to pay 25% salaries to the lecturers for the past two years thereby owing them between 10 to 15 months full salaries was a calculated attempt to ensure that children of the poor doesn’t have access to qualitative education thereby making education exclusively for the influential and rich in the society.
The opposition party in a press release personally signed by the Oyo State PDP Chairman, Alh Kunmi Mustapha and made available to press by the Oyo State PDP Publicity Secretary, Engr Akeem Olatunji commended the leadership of Oyo State NLC for their timely intervention through a 3 day solidarity warning strike to draw the attention of Gov Ajimobi led APC government to agonizing plights of the striking workers and appealed to the striking workers to remain “unshaken” and never lose hope despite their agonizing experience with Gov Ajimobi led APC administration in the State.
“The recent obnoxious policy of the Oyo State government in the last two years to insist on paying 25% salaries to the teaching and non-teaching staffs of The Polytechnic, Ibadan ; Emmanuel Alayande College of Education, Oyo ; Oyo State College of Agriculture and Technology , Igbo- Ora ; The Ibarapa Polytechnic, Eruwa ; The Oke- Ogun Polytechnic, Saki ; and Oyo State College of Education, Lanlate, which have remained closed since November when the staff declared a strike at the end of a 14 – day ultimatum given to the state government to pay their outstanding salaries as from November 3rd could be described as a crime against humanity and a great setbacks to education development in the State.”
“The Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State as a critical stakeholder is therefore calling the attention of Gov Ajimobi to the inherent dangers associated with his government elitist policy as it will only create an unsafe crime prone society where poverty and criminality will be competing side by side.”
While urging Gov Ajimobi led APC administration in the State to clear the backlog of 10 to 15 months salaries being owed the striking lecturers as they all have families and loved ones to take care most especially in this austerity period and current hike in pump price of petrol and high cost of transportation and food items, the party also advised the staff unions of the affected institutions, sacked LAUTECH teaching hospital staffs, stagnant Civil servants since 2010 and primary school teachers that are being owed pensions and gratuity running to over 50 months to adopt welfare strategies to cope with the effects of the refusal of Gov Ajimobi administration to do the needful pending when the APC administration will be forced to have a rethink on the gross injustice done to them and their dependants.
“To say that a governor of a politically conscious and educationally advanced State like Oyo State could be employing ‘get them to capitulate by starving them’ policy is totally absurd and barbaric. It has been employed by this same APC government in the past, it did not work.”
“The Peoples Democratic Party in Oyo State is ready to make whatever sacrifices needed to make the Gov Ajimobi administration to honour agreements, pact and contract with our gallant teaching and non teaching staffs of the Six tertiary institutions and the sacked LAUTECH staffs as well as other affected workers and pensioners”. Alh Kunmi Mustapha said.
