Three major unions at The Federal Polytechnic, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, yesterday called for the sack of the Rector, Mrs Theresa Akande, and top officials of the school.
They vowed to continue the boycott of official duties and stay off work because of what they described as the intransigence of the Rector on unpaid backlog of their Hazard, Peculiar and Field Trip allowances.
The Administrative Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) said the Rector has been withholding their allowances, despite appeals by the Federal Government.
They said Mrs Akande should be relieved of her job to enable the institution “move forward in the way of progress and peace”.
The unions alleged that authorities of the polytechnic have “decided to adopt divide-and-rule tactics by paying a select category of their (unions’) members the 35 months’ arrears of their Field Trip Allowance after weeks of meetings and frustrating wait.
They blocked the main entrance to the institution, preventing free movement into and out of the school.
The chairmen of two of the unions, Prince Ade Adeniyi (NASU) and Dr. Ayeni Oluwole (ASUP), said they would resist what they called the school management’s plan to repress them on non-payment of the allowances.
Adeniyi alleged that the management has spent over N100 million on unimportant journeys instead of paying the workers’ allowances.
He urged the Minister of Education, Prof Ruqqayatu Rufa’I, to intervene on the matter and resolve the ill-treatment being meted out to the workers.
Adeniyi said: “It is very sad that …Mrs Akande is applying divide-and-rule to weaken the unions and cause confusion, so that she can get away with the allowances.
“We want to make it clear that we are resolute to confront the management on the matter and we are making it clear that we are fighting a just course. But it is unfortunate that the management is proving to be anti-workers by the way it handles the matter.”
The Deputy Rector, Academic, Dr Nnamdi Aboloma, yesterday denied the allegations against the Rector.
He explained that the institution adopted piecemeal payment of the allowances.
He said the workers are in various categories, depending on whether or not they have submitted their 10-digit NUBAN accounts - in line with the polytechnic’s banks’ directive.
Aboloma said: “Despite the explanations, some of the workers still gave their old account numbers, which the banks have refused.”
He said the unions have not responded to the authority’s appeal to them to allow a few of their members join the bursar to process the payments.
The Deputy Rector added that “no one came to join the bursar, thus making the work rather difficult for him”.
“Even those who should not join in the strike at all, having joined the institution after 2007, equally joined. This is not justifiable,” Aboloma said.
He advised the workers to embrace the olive branch from the authority, adding that the development has grounded academics.
