Rabiu Omaku
The chairman Academic Staff of Union of Polytechnic, Nasarawa State Polytechnic, Lafia, Useni Paul has appealed to the state commissioner of education to do the needful to avert their planned strike by the Joint Union of Tertiary institutions.
The chairman stated this during an inspection visit by the education commissioner, Ahmed Aliyu Tijjani.
ASUP chairman called on the state government to consider the plight of the18 staff not in the payroll of the state government as a serious challenge to the beleaguered staff.
He reeled out expiration of accreditation as nagging issues affecting academic activities, saying accreditation expires since September, 2015.
Other hiccups of the institution according to Paul also include absence of road network, promotion and increments.
“For the first time you visit this institution and without any doubt we commend you for your kind words”.
“We want to see things turning around during your time because we are planning for a strike”.
The commissioner in his response, pleaded with the academic staff union not to go on strike for the sake of the state
Attributing the main cause of the issues to lean resources from the federation account, saying the drop in the allocation of the state potent serious preponderances to the system.
“The state spends N2.1bn to settle staff salary and our allocation stand at N2.3bn and below this amount from 2015, that is to say the remaining balance from our allocation would be just N400m”.
“We needs good road, hospitals, water and other social amenities like airport, why it that workers are agitating over airport project but there was is much talk on Gombe airport “.
According to Tijjani,” While submitting your 2017-2018 projects include fencing of the school, employment which is very paramount to the system.
