Nigerian school provost alleges risk to life as protesting staff lock up workplaces

The Provost of the Federal Faculty of Schooling (Technical), Akoka, Lagos, Wahab Azeez, has accused some unionists on the campus of participating in actions that represent a risk to his life and his instant relations.

He mentioned the unionists, underneath the umbrella of “involved employees” had locked up his workplace and workplaces of different administration members since 27 Might, claiming his tenure had ended as the school’s provost.

Mr Azeez, who spoke throughout a media briefing on Thursday night, pointed accusing fingers on the Chairman and Secretary of the school’s chapter of the Senior Workers Union of Schools of Schooling (SSUCOEN), Augustine Nwachukwu and Kazeem Qadri respectively.

He mentioned Messrs Nwachukwu and Qadri, amongst others, have persistently led every day protests for greater than 4 weeks towards his management of the school “over a tenure system that has since been clarified in my favour by the Federal Ministry of Schooling.”

The provost mentioned aside from denying him entry into his workplace since 27 Might, the protesters on Wednesday stormed his official residence on the campus and threatened to eject him inside seven days.

“They even posted a banner on the constructing that I ought to vacate throughout the subsequent seven days or that I’d be forcibly faraway from the constructing. That’s the top of it. My household together with my spouse who can also be a lecturer on the campus has been positioned underneath critical risk,” Mr Azeez mentioned.

However the protesting staff have denied the allegation of constituting a risk to both the lifetime of the provost or his relations, saying their actions have been throughout the laid-down procedures for agitation and protests towards what they perceived as improper conduct of the provost.

Talking on the phone with PREMIUM TIMES, the SSUCOEN Chairman, Mr Nwachukwu, mentioned the protesters’ conduct has been civil.

How disaster began

Mr Azeez was appointed the provost of the school in Might 2019 for a four-year time period of workplace however his letter of reappointment for one more four-year time period in workplace was dated 23 January 2023. Following the brand new appointment by the federal government, Mr Azeez mentioned he resumed the second time period on 26 Might 2023.

Nevertheless, on 12 June 2023 an amended Federal Schools of Schooling Act, 2023, which beneficial a five-year single time period for administration officers schooling schools nationwide, got here into impact.

He mentioned: “So some people who thought they might have the chance to turn into the provost if my second time period was truncated by the brand new Act mobilised the employees towards me and sought clarification from the Federal Ministry of Schooling.

“However as a result of the Act got here into impact after I had resumed, it clearly stipulates that every one of us who already began our second tenure ought to end the second time period of 4 years. And that is the precise interpretation the ministry gave in its response to their letter.”

PREMIUM TIMES obtained copies of the letter addressed to the Schooling Minister, Tahir Mamman, by the employees and the response by the ministry which was signed by the Director of Authorized Companies, Enonebi Azorbo.

Dated 4 December 2023, and signed by each Messrs Nwachukwu and Qadri, SSUCOEN wrote Mr Mamman and sought an interpretation of the Act in reference to the tenure of workplace of principal officers of the school, notably, the provost.

An identical letter written underneath the aegis of the Joint Motion Committee (JAC) of Workers Unions on the school was addressed to the Government Secretary of the Nationwide Fee for Schools of Schooling.

The signatories to the letter by JAC have been Messrs Nwachukwu and Qadri for SSUCOEN, and Chairman and Secretary of the Non-Tutorial Workers Union (NASU), Olasunkanmi Alonge and David Odukunle respectively.

Minister clarifies

In the meantime, in its response to the inquiries dated 23 Might, and referenced: SAF36/S.511/T/143/, the Minister of Schooling, Mr Mamman, defined the contents of the brand new Act and the interpretation by the ministry’s authorized division.

Signed on behalf of the minister by the Director of the Authorized Companies Division of the ministry, Mr Azorbo, the letter reads partially: “The passage of the Federal Schools of Schooling (amended) Act, 2023 gives for one single time period of 5 years as tenure of workplace for the Provosts of Federal Schools of Schooling as mirrored in part 13 (6).

“The Act made additional provisions to cowl the appointments of these Provosts who’ve been appointed previous to the assent of the amended Act Part 13(7)(a)(b) gives: If on the graduation of this part, a Provost appointed earlier than the graduation of this Act has held workplace for: (a) Lower than 5 (5) years, the Provost shall be deemed to be serving the 5 – 12 months single time period and shall not have the best for the renewal of his appointment for an extra time period of 4 (4) years; and (b) greater than 5 (5) years and serving the second time period of workplace, be deemed to be serving the final time period of workplace with none additional extension.”

The minister mentioned the sections referenced offered two situations for these appointed earlier than the brand new Act got here into power, and the opposite for these appointed after the act got here into power.

“The second state of affairs which is the case at hand is the place a Provost has accomplished the primary tenure of 4 years and has been re-appointed for one more tenure of 4 years when the modification Act commences, he shall be deemed to be serving his final time period of workplace of 4 years with out additional extension. The non-further extension on this case is that he can not get pleasure from 5 years underneath the second tenure as loved by the Provost within the first state of affairs. He’ll due to this fact full the four-year time period of the second tenure,” the minister additional clarified.

The minister additional famous that the wordings within the sections quoted are unambiguous “which doesn’t require some other interpretation than the literal that means. This implies that the phrase in a standing needs to be given their plain, odd, and literal that means…”

NASU directs members to abide by the minister’s directive

Reacting to the interpretation supplied by the minister, the management of NASU addressed a memo to its members urging them to adjust to the minister’s directive and keep away from any act of violence.

The discover, which was signed by the union’s secretary, Mr Odukunle, reads partially: “That is to tell NASU members that the FCE(T), Akoka department acquired the ultimate response to our joint letter with our sister union SSUCOEN from the Federal Ministry of Schooling referenced SAF 36/S.5ii/t/143 dated twenty third Might 2024 which affirm the 2nd time period of workplace for 4 years from twenty sixth of Might 2023.

“We, due to this fact, thank our members for his or her maturity and urge them to go about their actions throughout the school peacefully and shun any act that will disrupt the peace of the school because the Honourable Minister has lastly spοken.”

JAC metamorphoses to ‘involved employees’

In the meantime, following the withdrawal of NASU management and different stakeholders from the agitation towards the tenure of the provost, different staff, notably the management of SSUCOEN continued the agitation underneath the umbrella of a brand new discussion board tagged “involved employees.”

The protesters have since then continued every day meeting on the campus, resisting any try to reopen the locked workplaces.

Provost’s allegation

The provost accused the protesters of not solely barring him from accessing his workplace but additionally mobilising forces towards different staff and unions whose positions are towards theirs by organising “unlawful congresses and staged impeachment of officers of the unions.”

Mr Azeez mentioned: “A number of days in the past, the protesters mobilised random college students and mentioned the President of the scholars’ union was impeached just because the union’s management didn’t be part of their protest.

On Thursday, they threatened an impeachment course of towards NASU management for heeding the minister’s directive.

“They’ve additionally accused me of being dictatorial or being cussed however regardless of their excesses not a single one amongst them has been queried or sanctioned. I’ve remained an activist all my life and that’s the reason I’ve remained quiet over the matter. However I feel they need to know that I’m nonetheless the chief safety officer of the school and it’s nonetheless my accountability to offer safety for workers and college students. A number of people can not take legal guidelines into their palms.”

The provost mentioned the official residence the place the protesters had posted a give up discover for him was a part of his many infrastructural initiatives on the campus, questioning how workers would have the “effrontery to represent themselves to an unlawful authority.”

He mentioned he already submitted a petition towards the protesters to the police command in Lagos State, and that he’s awaiting the ministry’s directive “to keep away from degeneration of the matter.”

No risk towards provost’s life -Nwachukwu

The chairman of SSUCOEN, Mr Nwachukwu, instructed PREMIUM TIMES that the involved employees don’t agree with the response from the minister over the continued keep in workplace.

He mentioned: “Earlier than April this 12 months, which was meant to be in the direction of the top of the Dr Azeez-led administration, we agreed to endure his sole administrator model of management, not till the ministry replied to our letter that he ought to proceed in workplace till 2027.”

“After they mentioned the Act doesn’t take away him, we’ve got not gone too far with our method and no one has threatened his life. This matter has consumed three folks. As we communicate, all the Congress impeached the executives of COASU as a result of they didn’t come out with the may of the union to oppose Azeez.

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“A number of days in the past, the secretary of the coed union claimed she was coerced to say they haven’t been instructing them. The parliament has impeached the scholars’ union president for that. In abstract, we don’t need Azeez to proceed as provost. These points have been on the bottom for a very long time and we have been affected person that a minimum of subsequent 12 months, it could be over not till the ministry responded that it’s till 2027.”

Ministry intervenes once more

In the direction of addressing the battle, the Federal Ministry of Schooling just lately despatched a delegation led by the Director of Schools of Schooling Division, Uchenna Uba, to satisfy with the warring factions. The delegation visited the school on 12 June.

PREMIUM TIMES is conscious that the report of the committee has been submitted to the minister, and the events are presently awaiting the minister’s verdict.