UI staff protest against non-remittance of deductions

There was pandemonium at the University of Ibadan (UI) yesterday as non-academic staff members protested non-remittance of deductions and unpaid agreed allowance.

The development has forced the institution’s management to suspend its planned Matriculation ceremonies for the 2015/2016 academic session earlier scheduled for tomorrow.

The aggrieved protesters had mobilized members and shut the entrant gates into the university forcing the academic staff who did not join in the strike as well as students and the university community to trek to their destination.

The orientation programme for the new students holding at the International Conference Centre of the University was disrupted as the unions stormed the venue and switch off the power supply to the hall.

While the union members moved into the hall, students who were already seated were chased out with chairs turned upside down.

The unions were protesting ‎non-remittance of deductions from salaries, and lack of democratic ethos from the university management.

But the Vice Chancellor, Prof Idowu Olayinka in his reaction said the management has been transparent by announcing to all unions that the university is having a shortfall in its personnel cost since December 2015 making payment of some allowances difficult.

Olayinka informed that while the total personnel cost of the university is about N932million monthly, the university received N663million in December 2015 from Federal Government, and N782 million in January and February 2016 respectively.

He said, “In 2015 our allocation on personnel cost was reduced drastically to N663, 972, 634.60. This is a reduction on Personnel cost of N268, 741,391.64. This shortfall accounted for why deductions for the month of December 2015 could not be paid to all deserving cooperative societies and Unions.