By John Ogunsemore
The Chairman, Joint Campus Council, Ondo Axis of National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS), Comrade Joshua Tobiloba Oluwarotimi on Monday met Ondo State Governor, Hon. Lucky Aiyedatiwa in company of other student leaders, including the leadership of the Students Union Government of Rufus Giwa Polytechnic, Owo (RUGIPO) over lingering crisis in the institution.
The meeting was held at the Governor’s office in Akure.
In April, members of staff of the polytechnic staged a protest over non-payment of six months’ salaries.
Acting under the aegis of the Non-Academic Staff Union and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics, the workers also accused the state government of failing to implement the national minimum wage.
In a statement sent to Daily Sun on Tuesday, Oluwarotimi disclosed that the meeting was to enable him to present the concerns of the RUGIPO students directly to the governor, who had earlier tasked him with assessing the ongoing crisis.
“During the engagement, I appreciated the Governor for his proactive leadership and recent interventions in the institution, particularly the approval of the Convocation Ceremony and partial payment of salary arrears.
“I also expressed my dissatisfaction with the prolonged industrial action by the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP), the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP), which has disrupted academic activities and placed our students in a state of uncertainty and hardship.
“I passionately urged His Excellency to intervene swiftly in resolving the lingering issues related to unpaid salary arrears and management challenges, so that academic stability can be restored to RUGIPO and our students can return to their classrooms without further delay,” he said.
Oluwarotimi expressed optimism that the governor would swiftly address these concerns as soon as possible.