ASUU strike: UNILORIN wants compensation for abstaining

By Demola Akinyemi

ILORIN — The ProChancellor and Chairman, Governing Council of the University of Ilorin, Alhaji Tukur Mani, has charged the Federal Government to compensate staff of the institution for their refusal to participate in all strike actions called by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) in these past years.

He made the call at the 25th convocation of the University of Ilorin, weekend.
According to the Pro-Chancellor, “a happy and highly motivated workforce is a necessary ingredient for the growth and development of any institution.

The University of Ilorin’s staff, who have toiled for 8 consecutive years and refused to participate in any strike to ensure stability in university education in Nigeria, deserve some material compensation by government.

“The University of Ilorin community expects some encouragement from government for keeping the university system running while others intermittently shut their gates against students.”

Mani, who is also the National Financial Secretary of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)  urged the Federal Government to stem the tide of graduate unemployment in the country.

He added that the problem if left unchecked was capable of escalating into crisis of phenomenal proportion, arguing that “the restiveness of the youth cannot be caged.”