Why UI officials are on strike’

The non-academic staff unions of the University of Ibadan (UI) on Monday directed their members to proceed on an indefinite strike to protest illegal deductions of pensions and shortfall in the payment of salaries.

The decision was reached on Monday at a joint congress of the three non-academic unions where the position of the university management to attend to the demands was rejected.

But the joint congress which started after 8 o’clock in the morning rejected the plea by the University Management to grant the university some time to address all the issues while others will be channeled to the

Governing Council scheduled to meet yesterday.

The congress was presided over by the leaders of the unions including Wale Akinremi of Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Caleb Falaye of National Association of Academic Technicians (NAAT) and O.A. Arojo of NonAcademic Staff Union (NASU).

Their demands included non-payment of promotion arrears, illegal pension deductions, constitution of independent and credible staff audit exercise and investigation into the internally generated revenue and its mode of expenditure. AD Rufa’i College for Legal and Islamic Studies Misau has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bayero University, Kano (BUK), to run affiliated degree programmes in some selected courses.

Provost of the college, Dr Mustapha Isah Qasim, disclosed this at a press briefing in Misau.

He said that the college signed the MoU with BUK to run two degree programmes in Arabic and Islamic studies.

He said plans were also on ground to also include education, library science, Hausa language and other courses.

He said the college had qualified lecturers and facilities to handle the affiliated degree programmes.

Dr. Qasim said the college was running National Certificate in Education (NCE) in Arabic, Islamic Studies, legal studies as well as diploma in Mass Communication.