The Senior Staff Union in Colleges of Education (SUCCOEN), Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) chapter and Nigeria Labour Congress, staged a peaceful protest over alleged victimisation of their union leaders.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the union members were seen at the college campus, singing solidarity songs and moving around offices to express their grievances.
Mrs Wunmi Ombugadu, Chairman of the college SUCCOEN, was placed on compulsory retirement, while Mr Afis Ogunade, Secretary, and Mr Afolabi Oladipo, Assistant Secretary, were demoted.
Addressing the union members, Mr Danladi Mheselisa, President of SUCCOEN, urged the Lagos State Government to curtail the excesses of the college management for peace to reign.
Mheselisa, represented by his Vice, Mr Nicholas Ogbusuo, said that they were in the college to make a peace deal with the management.
“We received a message on September 18 that chairman of the AOCOED branch had been compulsorily retired from the service without committing any offence.
“Management of the college demanded for the minutes of the union congress which is against our law, they can only give the management extract of decision from the congress meeting.
“What type of management do we have in AOCOED? Do they want to dissolve the union so that they can perpetrate their missions?” he asked.
Mheselisa said the union leaders hoped that they could achieve peace, saying they came three weeks ago on the same issue to meet with the management.
“We also held meeting with the Special Adviser to the state Governor on Education and we reached a peace accord at the meeting.
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“We thought peace has returned to AOCOED, but you can now see what is going on, the compulsory retirement is the height and it will not stand.
“I appeal to the Chairman of Council of this college, Professor Tunde Samuel, to allow peace to reign and resolve this matter by recalling the retired chairman.
“We do not want to damage characters, that is why we have come for a peace deal, we are registered union and professional administrator,” he said.
Also, Mrs Funmi Sessi, Chairman, Lagos chapter of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), called on Babajide Sanwo-Olu to order the AOCOED Governing Council to stop victimising the workers.
Sessi said that the governing council needs to stop witch-hunting workers of the college, as the affected union leaders did not commit any offence.
“We were invited to come here because of the issues that have been going on in AOCOED for some months, and we are here with full force.
“There were some little issues, but the governing council escalated it by asking the union leaders to provide minutes of their congress meeting.
“The act of the management is called victimisation by chasing the workers around,” she said.
Sessi also said that recently, the governing council sacked 37 teachers at the international school unjustly, claiming that the college resources had dwindled.
Reacting, the college Registrar, Mr Sheu Muhideen, said that the issue was purely administrative that border on staffs’ behaviour.
Muhideen said that the governing council and the management have no issue with any of the union members.
“The governing council only disciplined those that were found guilty of gross misconduct under the college’s law and public service.
“They were invited to appear before the disciplinary committee of council, they did not come.
“But, they have the effrontery to stop other staff members from abiding by the directives of the state government,” the registrar said.
NAN