The management of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti(FUOYE) in Ekiti state Tuesday said the way the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) decided to prosecute seven day national warning strike is capable of misleading the public.
Addressing a press conference in Ado-Ekiti, the vice chancellor of FUOYE, Prof. Abayomi Fasina, said it was in response to the inaccurate, baseless, and inflammatory statements allegedly made by Mr. Temidayo Azeez Aguda, adding that several false statements were made with the intention to mislead the public and caused disaffection against the authorities of the university.
“The purpose of this conference is to set the record straight as regards the events that led to the current industrial actions embarked upon by SSANU and other trade unions in FUOYE. The second objective is to clarify FUOYE’s actions which were maliciously and mischievously criticized by Mr. Aguda, whose insensitive remarks implied that FUOYE was posing threat to the peace of Ekiti state which was nothing but a blatant lie concocted to cause disaffection and generate crises.
“His remarks were not only erroneous but also lacked substance. They were misleading and bereft of expected diligence in fact-checking. The statements have contributed to the misguided perception held by the
national body of SSANU, leading to the alleged directive to occupy FUOYE which the Aguda-led group carried out physically on Monday.
“The illegal and provocative occupation could have led to mayhem if not for the proactive actions the management of the university had taken ahead of time.
The vice chancellor who was represented by the deputy vice chancellor, Administration, Prof. Tajudeen Opoola, said the EKSU SSANU chairman expressed concern that the actions of the vice chancellor may disrupt the peace in Ekiti land and could cause obstacles by insisting that approval must be sought from management before a staff could join a union of his or her choice.
He said Mr. Aguda claimed that despite the fact that some staff members had expressed interest in joining SSANU and filling forms to that effect, the vice chancellor vehemently opposed their application, allegedly stating that “over his dead body” would such actions be implemented.
The vice chancellor said the EKSU SSANU chairman asserted that security agents threatened the SSANU branch chairman of FUOYE on the instruction of the vice chancellor.
