Minister wades into FCET’s provost, aggrieved workers’ rift

The intervention of the Minister of State for Education, Dr Tanko Yusuf Sununu in the ongoing crisis rocking the Federal College of Education (Technical) (FCET), Akoka, Lagos, has yielded positive results as the warring parties, who are provost and some workers’ unions, have reached and signed an agreement to allow peace to return to the college.

They reached the agreement on Thursday in Abuja at a reconciliation meeting chaired by the minister with the Provost, Dr Wahab Ademola Azeez; Director of Colleges of Education in the ministry, Dr Uchenna Uba; the Chairman of the newly inaugurated Governing Council of the College, Dr Adenuga Adeniyi Olatunde; Caretaker Chairman of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Ishola Lawal; Chairman of the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education, Augustin Nwachukwu, and the Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union on the campus, Olasunkanmi Alonge, in attendance.

Also in attendance were the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Paulinus Okwelle; Chairman of the Committee of Provosts of Colleges of Education, Faruk Haruna; NASU National Vice-President, Samuel Ogunmokun, and so forth.

Recall that the college has been thrown into crisis following the approval of the provost’s second tenure in office and the workers’ unions locked up the Provost’s office and also issued him a quit notice to vacate his official residence, arguing that it was illegal for him to go for two tenures because of the new College Act which stipulates only a five- year single term for the provosts of federal colleges of education across the country whereas the Act came into being about two weeks after the provost had secured the second term in May 27 and therefore not applicable to him.

Since then, the workers have been protesting daily on campus insisting that the provost would not return to his seat even though the Ministry of Education told them that the new law does not affect him.

At the reconciliation meeting, however, were some resolutions made.

One of them is that the aggrieved workers should release the key to the office of the provost which they had locked up since May 27 a day after the expiration of his first four-year tenure, to the Chairman of the newly inaugurated Governing Council of the college so as to allow the Provost, Dr. Ademola Azeez, to resume his official duties.

Another major pact is that the ongoing daily protest by the workers over the tenure of the provost should be stopped forthwith.

Also in the agreement, a copy of which was obtained by Sunday Tribune is that the governing council chairman should meet with the representatives of the staff of the college who were part of the meeting on that same Thursday while on Tuesday, July 7, should visit the college with four other members of the council and address the general workers.

The meeting also mandated the new council to investigate the allegation of misappropriation of funds approved for the fencing of the college levelled against the college management by the workers.

It was also resolved that the Provost should be allowed to operate under the supervision of the new Governing Council chairman of the college while the council should also address the issue regarding the appointment of the new bursar for the college, among others.

The agreement was signed by the Director of Colleges of Education in the ministry, Dr Uchenna Uba; the Chairman of the newly inaugurated Governing Council of the College, Dr. Adenuga Adeniyi Olatunde; Caretaker Chairman of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Ishola Lawal; Chairman of the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education, Augustin Nwachukwu, and the Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union on the campus, Olasunkanmi Alonge, among others.

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