LAGOS—ACADEMIC  and other activities at the Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education, AOCOED, Ijanikin, Lagos were shut yesterday by members of the Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union, COEASU, and the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education, Nigeria, SSUCOEN, protesting unpaid salary arrears, and pensions to pensioners.

The aggrieved workers locked the school’s gates and prevented students and others from gaining access. They   only allowed Secondary school students writing GCE in after thorough scrutiny by union leaders.

Provost of the school, Bashorun Olalekan Wasiu was equally prevented from entry the school and was asked to go to Alausa and report the development to the relevant authorities.

coeasu slams Lagos Govt, schoolmamnegement

Chairman of the school’s chapter of COEASU, Avosetinyen Michael said both the school management and  State Government had failed the workers as most of the issues raised bothered on poor funding.

Amid solidarity songs by placard-carrying members, the chairman said, “we want our four and half months salary arrears paid. We want our pensioners who are owed millions of Naira paid and our cooperative society is now bankrupt because its purse is empty.

We can no longer access loans because of non-remittance of deductions from our salaries to the relevant account. Same for our pension fund. “

He vowed that  the school would remain shut until management offered solution to the problems enumerated in the list of complaints.

Provost speaks

Responding, the Provost,  said the issues raised were not new and that he expected the union leaders to adopt a collaborative approach in dealing with them.

On pensioners, he said: “The delay in their payment has to do with the evaluation of their services in the past. We have an officer who is saddled with the problem of pension staff. He is the only one who can give authentic statement on it.

“On the other issues, we have agreed an early settlement but the cash inflow has been the problem.”

He  pleaded  with the workers to call of  the strike so that normal academic and non-academic activities could resume.