College of Education students protest in Kwara

SUSPECTED five hoodlums, believed to be students of the Kwara State College of Education, Ilorin has been arrested by police over an alleged violent protest in the Ilorin metropolis on Monday.

Students of the College, had early Monday morning, staged a peaceful protest, which allegedly turned violent afterwards, over alleged distortion of their second-semester examination.

The state Police Public Relations Officer, PPRO, Ajayi Okasanmi, who confirmed the arrest, said that “When the protest became violent and the protesting students started destroying vehicles of innocent persons, the police was left with no choice than to disperse the protesters, while five hoodlums were arrested.

The PPRO said that the arrested persons would be prosecuted after the conclusion of the investigation.

The protesting students, who had carried placards with various inscriptions, said that ongoing strike action by the academic staff of the institution over non-payment of their four and half months salary by the state government, made their lecturers to boycott second-semester exam.

The student’s protest, which reportedly paralysed commercial activities at Saw Mill area, where the institution was located, also caused traffic gridlock around the area, while traffic gridlock was created while the pandemonium lasted.

The Student Union Speaker, Comrade Ajamiu Mathew, who spoke on behalf of the students, called on the state government to pay more attention to the plight of the institution.

Meanwhile, the Kwara State Government says it has released the sum of N125million as June 2018 subvention to all the state-owned tertiary institutions.

The State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Mr Abdullahi Alkinla, who disclosed this to newsmen in Ilorin on Monday, said that the State Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed had approved the release of the funds since last week Wednesday.

According to him, immediately the approval was given, the State Ministry of Finance swung into action to ensure that the institutions get the money before Friday last week.

He, however, explained that the banks could not process the payment of the money until Monday morning, adding that the funds had dropped into the accounts of the institutions.

Alkinla further said that the Provost of the College of Education, Ilorin, Dr Yusuf Abdulraheem had early this morning confirmed to him the receipt of the institution’s share of the money.

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He, therefore, stressed that the reported protest by students of the College of Education, Ilorin was unnecessary as the government had made good its pledge to make the money available

The Commissioner said that the State government used to disburse subvention to the institutions on a quarterly basis but had to change it to monthly in order to assist them to meet their monthly salary obligation.

He explained that with the release of subvention for the payment of June salary, the institutions now have only a one-month outstanding salary to clear, which is for July.

Alkinla expressed optimism that the July subvention to the institutions would be released soon.

When the protest became violent and the protesting students started destroying innocent person vehicles the police was left with no choice than to disperse the protesters while five hoodlums were arrested, they will be prosecuted after an investigation.