Administrative and academic activity was on Wednesday, July 30, 2014 disrupted at the Lagos State University (LASU) following forceful closure of offices in the institution by striking workers.
Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) who have been on strike since last May shut offices in the university, save for the office of the Vice Chancellor, Professor John Oladapo Obafunwa.
The action of the striking workers impaled the the gathering of graduates of the university, who had converged at the university in anticipation of their call up to the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) program.
Punch reports:
The potential corps members are due to report to camp for orientation on Tuesday, August 5, 2014.
The striking workers’ action also initially prevented the Vice-Chancellor, Prof. John Obafunwa, from holding a press briefing on the institution’s forthcoming 19th convocation and 30th anniversary ceremonies.
Journalists, who gathered for the briefing scheduled for 10am at the university’s Senate Building, waited for more than three hours without the VC addressing them.
Obafunwa, it was gathered, later addressed a few journalists who remained behind in his office.
But speaking to journalists, the LASU-SSANU Chairman, Mr. Saheed Oseni, alleged that the university authorities had failed to address the needs of the members of the union.
Oseni, who spoke on the sidelines of the union’s congress on Wednesday, noted that the shutdown was strategic, especially as “they had several unresolved issues with the authorities.”
He added, “The authorities have not been fair to us and this explains why we cannot suspend the strike. Of importance to us is that the university council has failed to resolve the promotion issue we raised with the management for over one year now.
