Gabriel Dike

No fewer than seven executive members of the striking Colleges of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU) Adeniran Ogunsanya College of Education (AOCOED) branch were arrested, detained and later released by the police on allegedly the order of the college management.

The union leaders were picked up at the entrance of the Provost office, Dr. Omola Ladele by the Divisional Police Officer in charge of Ijanikin.

Among those arrested, held and later released were the union chairman, Mr. Ige Ajayi; secretary, M.O. Alaka and five other executives of COEASU.

Lecturers of AOCOED on Tuesday embarked on an indefinite strike to press home their demands and the action paralysed academic activities on the college.

They listed their outstanding demands to include unpaid 53.37 % allowance and arrears, N350 million bailout, epileptic power supply in the college, non-resuscitation of IGR programmes, unpaid outstanding honoraria, management inability to establish college bookshop and inexplicable promotion criteria for academic staff.

Chairman of COEASU, AOCOED chapter, Mr Ajayi, denied that they closed the main gate of the college and prevented the provost from gaining access to the campus, insisting the encounter happened at the entrance of her office.

“It was a false allegation; we never locked the gate on Wednesday. We stopped the provost from entering her office and asked her to go to Alausa to get our money to pay for our demands. It was our congress decision and she was part of it.

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”On Thursday, December 2019, having been charged by the highest decision making organ of the union, the congress directed Dr. Ladele Aina Omola to proceed as the provost to the state secretariat, Alausa, in pursuance of our demands.

”What the union got was an arrest through the directive of the college management by 20 fully-armed police officers from both Ijanikin police station and Area K Command, Badagry. We were  whisked away to Area K command, where we were detained for hours.

“About 20 armed police stormed the place on the order of the college management and seven of us were arrested in the presence of the provost and after intervention from our national body, we were released.

”We remain resolute on our demands as we call on the government of Lagos State to address and put to rest issues that had lingered for years where other tertiary institutions in Lagos State had been attended to,” he explained.

Giving reasons why they embarked on strike, COEASU chairman said because of several failed promises from both the college management and state government, the executives, who narrowly escaped being impeached by the congress had no choice than to declare an industrial dispute as directed by congress.

According to him, the union waited for three months including meetings and personal visits to the Special Adviser on Education to the Governor, Mr. Tokunbo Wahab, before embarking on strike.

”It became obvious very obvious that our union has been taken for granted. The union was left with no other option but to embark on this strike as directed by the congress on December 3.”

Ige disclosed that since COEASU members started the strike, the college management and the state government had not invited union officials for discussion. He vowed that the strike would continue until their demands are met.

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