Non-Academics Staff Union (NASU) of colleges of education in Nigeria has condemned the present state of economy of Nigeria and the insecurity pervading the nation recently.
This was on Wednesday at the opening ceremony of the National Trade Group Council delegate congress, a regular meeting of colleges of education in Nigeria, held at the Federal College of Education, Special, Oyo, (FCES).
Speaking at the event, the Trade Group Chairman/Deputy President , Non- Academics Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), Comrade Ogunmokun Oladapo, asserted that advocating decentralisation of policing is apt, as he appealed to the National Assembly to endorse the agitation promptly.
According to him, governments at all levels must provide the armed forces necessary support and equip them well enough to combat insecurity .
He noted that as the purchasing power of Nigerians shrinks in the face of rising cost of living, more Nigerians are being bushed below the national poverty line, and despite all measures put in place to ameliorate the situation, the hardship Nigerians face remains hellish.
He appealed to the presidency and all the state governors not to spare any measure at bringing succour to the prevailing suffering Nigerians are going through, adding that the implementation of the new national minimum wage in Nigeria is inevitable going by the rising cost of living.
Speaking in the same vein at the occasion, the NASU Chairman, Federal College of Education Special, Oyo, Comrade Badmus Adekunle, while welcoming the delegates from other colleges of education in the country for the epoch event, listed some of their basic needs, calling for urgent attention of the government and their respective colleges to redress promptly.
ALSO READ: Zamfara bans political officers, civil servants from granting unauthorised media interviews
These, he said, included nonpayment of their promotion arrears and other series of allowances.
Others were the exclusion of NASU from TETFUND scholarship for members to further their education as their counterparts in the institution and correction of disparity between Higher National Diploma (HND) and Bachelor degree holders .
According to him, if the governments and the management of our institutions would address these issues, the development would go a long way to boost the productivity of Non-Academic staff in the institution.
Comrade Adekunle expressed satisfaction with the appreciable solidarity support the union members enjoy from the college management, headed by Dr Rauf Salami, the Provost. He attributed the success story of the just concluded congress to the principal officers of the host college, Federal College of Education, Special, Oyo
The Provost of the host college, Dr Salami, in his own remarks, reiterated his commitment and determination to support the growth and development of NASU members in the college.
While he wished them progress in their various activities, the college provost noted that his administration would not tolerate truancy in the institution.
Comrade Ibraheem Akande from Oyo State National Executive Council, NASU, decried the nonchalant attitude with which the governments at levels and some public colleges of education in the country treat NASU staff’s basic demands. While he called on the concerned bodies to do the needful with NASU staff as regards their welfare, he also appealed to the Nigerian governments to redress the barbaric insecurities and unbearable rising cost of living in the country, describing the situation as unfortunate.
and then