Uni Ibadan Students Sorrowful Condition on Campus

Students of the University of Ibadan are bemoaning the situation of things in the varsity following the commencement of strike by the non-academic staff of the institution.

Unibadan

The students say they have been living is deplorable conditions on campus as sources of water and electricity have been turned off by the staff who are on strike.

Punch reports that academic and administrative activities have been halted at the university since March 20, 2017, when the staff declared indefinite strike due to what the union has described as “illegal deductions of pension money from their salaries.”

Apart from the deduction issue, the workers have been demanding for their unpaid promotion arrears, the shortfall in salary payment, as well as better welfare for staff, among other things.

Punch correspondents were able to speak with some of the students on Monday, March 27, 2017, and they complained of the lack of water and electricity in the hostels as well as the classrooms.

“Each time there is a crisis between the school administration and the staff, the students are always at the receiving end,” said Kayode Onifade, a 300 level student of the Faculty of Arts.

“Our lecturers now combine their work with that of non-academic staff because they get the keys to open the classrooms for lectures to hold and lock them after.

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“In the hostel, we sleep in darkness. Many of us attend classes without taking our bath because there is no water. Both parties must reach an agreement for the sake of the students. The living condition is terrible,” added Onifade.

Punch reports that the institution has been locked since the strike began weeks ago and that lectures only resumed on Monday.

Meanwhile, efforts to reach the chairman of the institution's branch of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Wale Akinremi, have proved abortive.

However, the institution’s Director of Public Communication, Mr. Olatunji Oladejo, told Punch correspondent that efforts are being made by both parties to resolve the crisis.