AAUA students protest prolonged academic disruption, as Ondo begins 60% subvention implementation
By Julius Alabi, Akure
Students of the Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko (AAUA), Ondo State took to the streets today to protest the prolonged industrial action that has disrupted academic activities at the institution, as the state government announced the commencement of the implementation of a 60 per cent increase in subventions to its four tertiary institutions.
The students under the umbrella of the Students’ Union Government (SUG), barricaded the university’s main gate and major roads linking the institution to the highway, demanding an immediate resolution of the issues responsible for the strike.
Some of the placards carried by the students read thus; “Every pending graduate, shey na our lives be these?”, “NASU, NAAT, SSANU have joined strike,” and “Enough is Enough.”
The students lamented over the continued closure of the university saying that the strike is serious affecting them academically.
The SUG President, Comrade Folagbade Greatness Ayoola, who spoke with newsmen noted that they could no longer remain silent while the industrial crisis continued to keep them out of the classrooms.
Ayoola said the prolonged strike had subjected students to serious hardship and uncertainty, lamenting that they were still expected to meet their financial obligations to the institution despite the crisis surrounding the payment of salaries and other welfare issues affecting workers.
He appealed to the Ondo State Government and the striking unions to urgently resolve their differences and restore academic activities as soon as possible.
However, in a move apparently aimed at addressing the concerns behind the industrial action, the Ondo State Government announced that it had effected payment of the August arrears balance of the new subventions to the four state-owned tertiary institutions.
The government said the payment marked the commencement of the implementation of the 60 per cent increment in subventions to the institutions, with the objective of enabling them to meet salary obligations and improve workers’ welfare.
In a statement issued on Thursday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Prince Ebenezer Adeniyan, Governor Lucky Orimisan Aiyedatiwa appealed to the striking unions to reciprocate the government’s gesture by calling off the strike and returning to work.
The governor urged the unions to act in good faith and place the interests of students and the overall development of the state above all other considerations.
“The payment marks the commencement of the implementation of the 60 per cent increment on subventions to the institutions, aimed at meeting salary obligations and improving welfare,” the statement said.
Aiyedatiwa, therefore, appealed to the striking unions in the affected institutions to suspend their industrial action and resume work, expressing concern over the prolonged disruption of academic activities and its effect on students.
The development came as the protesting AAUA students intensified pressure on the University authorities and the government to find a lasting solution to the crisis, insisting that their education and future should not be held hostage by the protracted industrial dispute.
