Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, Kayode Soremekun, has described protesting workers at the institution as “restless” and “a case of nihilism, not unionism.”
Non-academic and Senior Staff Unions of the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, on Wednesday, protested alleged irregularities in promotion, unpaid bonuses and hazard allowances, among other issues.
The workers mounted the protest at the university gate, preventing entry into the institution and halting activities.
Then violent scenes broke out within the workers during the protest, forcing journalists to flee the scene, Channels Television observed.
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“I received a letter from them this evening,” the Vice-Chancellor Soremekun said on Friday morning. “What I will do is I will continue to engage them, to dialogue, because, at the end of the day, consultation is better than confrontation.
“On the issue of backdoor recruitment, nothing like that was raised in the context of our conversation. That is a last-minute issue on their part.
“It is impossible to recruit through the backdoor because you have to do interviews and you have to bring onboard the Federal Character Commission.
“The issue of hazard allowance has already been taken care of, but they are now demanding arrears of the hazard allowance.
“And as regards promotion, I told them that let each individual come forward, write out his or her grievance and that this will be taken care of by the management.
“What we are seeing here is a case of nihilism and not unionism, because I want to repeat that they are not talking about unpaid salaries. They are talking about extra issues, about bonuses, about Christmas bonus.
“I don’t want to say they are spoilt, but it is just a case of restlessness playing itself out.”