UNILAG: Non-academics back Babalakin, registrar | EduCeleb
EduCeleb
10th September 2020
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) branches of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have backed the institution’s Registrar, Mr Oladejo Azeez.
Recall that Azeez had refused to carry out directives of the Federal Ministry of Education which had directed the Senate to elect an Acting Vice-Chancellor.
SSANU and NASU made their position known in a joint memorandum to the special Visitation Panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to investigate the crisis rocking UNILAG.
The union also threw their weight behind the Dr Wale Babalakin’s leadership as Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of Governing Council.
The groups condemned the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for ‘attacking’ the office of the Registrar and declaring Babalakin a persona non grata.
“The Joint Action Congress (JAC of SSANU and NASU) sees the assault on the office of the registrar as unfair, unacceptable and condemnable. The assaults included: a) Usurpation of Registrar’s duties; b) Verbal attack on Registrar’s person by ASUU as read in newspapers, just to ridicule the office.
“ASUU needs to be more urbane in its pronouncement. Declaring the Pro-Chancellor Persona non grata was rather unfortunate.
“Finally, the Visitation panel must understand that JAC of SSANU and NASU is pleased with the Council led by Dr. Wale Babalakin for the obvious reason that he was committed to staff welfare issues,” the unions stated.
SSANU and NASU also asked the Buhari visitation panel to address the stagnation/non-promotion of non-teaching workers; the discrimination against non-teaching staff in the allocation of staff residential quarters; among others.