Teachers paralyse college over suspended colleagues

Citing alleged illegal suspension of four members of the academic union by the school management, lecturers and students of the Federal College of Agriculture, Moor Plantation, Ibadan, Oyo State have paralysed activities at the institution.

According to sources, the management had on Monday placed the quartet on an ‘indefinite suspension’ without salaries.

The Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Chief Audu Ogbeh, had reportedly okayed the punishment through the supervisory agency – Agricultural Research Council of Nigeria. The protesters shut all offices during peaceful exercise.

The Guardian gathered that the management, had in an August 2, 2016 letter entitled, “indefinite suspension,” accused the chairman, secretary, auditor and public relations officer of the college’s Academic Staff Union of Polytechnic (ASUP) of gross misconduct.

The affected officers are Mr. Olufemi Jokanola, Mr. Eyitayo Oluade, Awogbade Aderemi and Miss Adenike Adekunle.

The placard-carrying union members accused the provost, Dr. Babajide Adelekan, of victimasation. Some of the placards read: “leave our representatives alone. They only relay our collective resolutions”, “The quality of academic studies in FCA is our priority”, “ASUP says suspend all of us”, “FCA is not a military zone”, “three queries in a single day are victimisation”, “We say no to intimidation”, “enough is enough”, “respect freedom of association”, “In FCA, we need a leader not a boss”, “Adelekan must go” among others.

The ASUP chairman, Jokanola, traced the genesis of the crisis to when the body began to make move to unionise.

Contacted, the institution’s registrar, Mr. Abimbade Abass, declined comments, saying, “only the Chief Executive Officer of the college can speak on the matter.” before he left the scene.

Efforts to reach the provost were futile as calls put to his mobile line failed to connect.