The management of the crisis-ridden Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma, has reacted to the recent press conference addressed by the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU),AAU chapter, describing it as a cacophony of half-truth activism.
The university’s head of corporate communications and protocol, Otunba Mike Aladenika, in a statement said the institution had always seen responding to ASUU press conferences as ” a big distraction, if not a total waste of time.”
In a swift response to the management’s reaction to its plight, the leadership of ASUU, AAU berated the institution for being insensitive to the worsening crisis in the university.
According to the terse statement by ASUU, “The attention of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma chapter has been drawn to the reaction by the University Administration to its press conference of Thursday, 29th February, 2024 reported in the media.
“The union said it has painstakingly perused the said reaction and wishes to state unequivocally that it is unfortunate that the University Administration would be so feeble and evasive on several serious matters raised by the Union in the said press conference.”
In the statement signed by Dr Cyril Oziegbe Onogbosele and Dr William Odion, chairperson and assistant secretary of ASUU, AAU, Ekpoma respectively, the union said it was not surprised by the simplistic response of the university administration lacking in rigour, being a product of alien and unqualified handlers of the university since 2021.
The union expressed disappointment over the embellished rhetoric reaction from the university administration, stylishly designed to evade serious matters on assault on university autonomy; administrative highhandedness; impunity; pauperization and victimization of staff; erosion of the pristine university ethos of due process, rule of law and academic freedom; weighty allegation of fraudulent graduation of over thirty (30) students purportedly based overseas by the university; large-scale certificate and academic transcript racketeering; alleged tax invasion by staff, amounting to over N2 billion in the university, and the illegality of all activities by the Special Intervention Team (SIT) as a result of tenure expiration since November 2022.
“It is disheartening that the University Administration is not bordered about the legal implications of its present administrative policies, decisions and activities, including non-procedural appointments/employments being superintended over by the SIT which will come to nought now or in the future as the Union is poised to fight these illegalities till justice is done in the university.”
According to the union, “The media should ask the university administration to address the stoppage of the salaries of some academic staff, selective payment of salaries, non-payment of outstanding/withheld salaries, stoppage of responsibility allowance (for office-holders), stoppage of annual salary increments, stoppage of payment of excess workload arrears, non-issuance of payslips and bastardisation of the statutory salary structure in the University.
“What about the issue of outstanding salaries/withheld salaries of staff over ASUU’s national strike action between 14th February, 2022 and 16th October, 2022 that has remained unresolved in the University even when the Federal Government has started paying up those salaries in Federal Universities?”
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