COVID-19 lockdown: We are in great suffering, pains, disengaged Ekiti varsity staff cry out
…beg well meaning Nigerians to urgently come to their aid, say lockdown has worsened their condition
Adewole Kehinde
The disengaged staff of Ekiti State University under the alleged irregularities in appointment categories have cried out to well meaning individuals and Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) in and outside the state to urgently come to their aid to alleviate the sufferings and untold hardship their families have been subjected to since the tragic incident last December, 2019.
It will be recalled that almost 1000 staff members of the University were disengaged on alleged cases of falsification of age, certificate forgery, irregular appointments, over aged, among others by the Prof. Edward Olanipekun led Management. Olanipekun is the University’s Vice-Chancellor.
However, the affected staff have denied allegations against them , insisting they were legally employed but the management has neglected them and disengaged them illegally.
The 2016 set alleged of having irregular appointments have cried out, alleging that the University Management had disengaged them in order to fill their vacancies with preferred job seekers.
The disengaged staff who claimed that they have clean records and were legally employed by the University’s Council further sought legal action against the University Management.
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Claiming further that event the legal counsel to the University Management, Dayo Akinlaja, had absolved them of any misconduct in his reply to their own legal counsel, Banjo Oyanakin , the disengaged staff in a statement made available to newsmen in Ado-Ekiti at the weekend, said:
” It was later discovered that the purported disengagement was done with hatred for 2016 set especially through the manner at which the management led by Prof. Edward Olanipekun handled the matter after the reports/ outcomes of the screening committee and appeal panel constituted played the sinister scripts of the vice Chancellor: The mild dramas displayed by the panelists was a clear case of coup plotted against the 2016 employed staff that were alleged of irregularities in appointments despite the fact that we as innocent workers, were duly employed whereas many of those in categories of age falsification, certificate forgery etc were reinstated with no stress.
“However, the management blatantly refused to look into our cases even when we have clean records/ credentials and were unjustly disengaged which was attested to through replies of the University’s lawyer, Dayo Akinlaja (SAN) who in this reply absolved us of any offense.
“All our efforts as poor workers and pleas to the Management to reconsider the matter fell on their deaf ears.
It was revealed that the disengaged staff are currently experiencing serious and untold economic hardship as they can no longer feed their families especially with the lockdown the state is currently experiencing as a result of Coronavirus pandemic.
The 236 unlawfully sacked workers are now appealing to the well meaning individuals in the society and NGOs to come to their aid in any form in order to be able to cater for the needs of their immediate families and dependants.
