Kunle ADELABU
-Disengaged staff members must appeal to Governing Council within 7 days – Governor
-We are not troublemakers – Union
Worried by the lingering industrial crisis rocking the Lagos State Polytechnic (LASPOTECH), Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, on Friday, constituted a Visitation Panel with a task to investigate all the contentious issues that are setting the staff union of the school against the management.
Governor Sanwo-Olu also ordered members of the staff earlier disengaged by the management to forward their letters of appeal to the school’s Governing Council within seven (7) days for the review of the process of their disengagement with a condition that the appeal letters must be duely endorsed to the Head of Service to ensure transparency in the review process.
The Governor expressed concern over the effects of the protracted crisis on the wellbeing of the school, noting that the prevailing situation had affected the morale of law-abiding employees of the institution, as well as the academic performance of the students.
He said that the Government was aware of the humiliation and denigration that the Governing Council and management of the school had endured in the last six months when this impasse began, calling on all stakeholders to keep peace in the interest of the students.
The Governor said: “By the powers conferred on me as Governor of Lagos state, I, hereby, order the constitution of a Visitation Panel to the Institution to investigate all contentious issues and submit its recommendations for my consideration.
“The State Government, without prejudice to an earlier rebuff of its magnanimous gesture to re-consider the disengagement of some employees of the Institution, is once again asking disengaged Officers, who are willing to continue their service in the institution, to forward their letters of appeal to the institution’s Governing Council within seven days for a review of their disengagement. Copies of such letters should be duly endorsed to the Head of Service for an unbiased review of the process leading to their disengagement.
“Employees of the institution should note that they are under contractual obligation to perform optimally as stated in the terms of their employment. Any acts that are contrary to this shall be treated in accordance with the Public Service Rules, other extant regulations and the Labour Laws.”
Governor Sanwo-Olu said his administration appreciated the role a strong, dynamic and enlightened academic union is playing in entrenching culture of industrial harmony and development, he, however, said his government would not bend to blackmail and be hoodwinked by “a union that continues to carry out its agitations in a manner that threatens and is becoming inimical to the peace of the state.”
He warned any member of the school bent on breaching the peace in the school, saying such person would be dealt with in accordance with the law.
“For the avoidance of doubt, all acts capable of disrupting academic activities, breaching a conducive working environment and peaceful co-existence in the Institution shall be dealt with in accordance with the Laws,” the Governor said.
The Governor praised students of the school for their “peaceful conduct” in the face of the “needless crisis”, wishing them good luck in their forthcoming examination.
Governor Sanwo-Olu assured that normalcy would be restored and sustained in the institution, while assuring safety and security of all members of the school during and after the examination.
Meanwhile, the union has stated that they have been able to get the governor’s attention to the crisis that has crippled academic and other activities in LASPOTECH.
In a release sent to THE IMPACT, Comrade Semiu Akinlawon Fasasi, the chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), also blamed the former governor for allowing the crisis to degenerate to the present level.
“I am convinced the Governor, His Excellency, Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has used one stone to kill two birds. If the former Governor had taken a step to wade into the crisis, it wouldn’t have degenerated to this level.
“Heavens know we are no troublemakers but our quest for justice in a very corrupt society like Nigeria is an Herculean task. But thank God we have secured the attention of the Governor. ‘Ti ika ba ro ejo, ika ko lo maa da’ (accused cannot be a judge in his own case). Let’s continue to put our hope in God. He is the Almighty”.
He stated that the strike action will be reviewed at a Congress that would hold after the release of their arrested members.
“However, members should remain resolute, the struggle will soon be over, we shall review the strike action at a Congress after securing the release of our members.
“It is, however, necessary to intimate members that the strike is still ongoing until the Congress state otherwise.
“It is too obvious that the Sogunro-led Management has fed the Government with enough lies to suggest that we are troublemakers when we are NOT. Nevertheless, we shall do all within our capabilities to convince the Government that we truly mean to struggle for the progress and development of our LASPOTECH”.
