“Members of the union passionately appeal to the Governor Ajimobi-led administration in the state to, as a matter of urgency, pay all our outstanding salaries and arrears,”
The Oke-Ogun Polytechnic, Saki chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has called on Oyo State Governor Abiola Ajimobi to pay the staff their salaries, which have been outstanding for ten months.
According to union chairman Muyiwa Olawumi, the Oyo State government reduced its grants to the state-owned university, thereby causing the school to seek cost-cutting measures such as withholding salaries. The slashing of grants has also halted developmental projects the polytechnic had planned, he added.
“Members of the union passionately appeal to the Governor Ajimobi-led administration in the state to, as a matter of urgency, pay all our outstanding salaries and arrears,” Mr. Olawumi told a Punch Newspaper reporter.
“We also call on the state government to adequately fund the young institution and other tertiary institutions in the state. We want the governor to release the takeoff grant for Oke-Ogun Polytechnic,” he said.
The union leader lamented that staff at the polytechnic have been unable to afford their children’s school fees and cannot afford medical treatment due to the non-payment of their salaries.
Mr. Olawumi said that the ASUP has appealed to the government on numerous occasions, but thus far, lecturers have yet to receive the salaries they are owed. He warned that the union could embark on strike if the government fails to pay its members their outstanding salaries.
