Ogun

TASCE under siege, as provost orders police to ‘molest’ lecturer

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The embattled Provost, Tai Solarin College of Education, Dr. Lukman Adeola Kiadese has disrupted the academic works of the college, as he ordered team of policemen to harass, maim and dispersed the protesting staffs and management of the college with teargas and gunshots.

It was learnt that the embattled Provost came to the college for the third consecutive days with not less than twenty fully armed policemen as bodyguards to forcefully resume back to office after nine months of out of office, following staffs resolved to demand for their sixty months of unpaid salaries and other 7-point demands.

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A staff of the college who spoke anonymous, said that the policemen came to the campus with order of the Provost, who teargassed and released gunshots to disperse staffs of the college while converged to demand for their legitimate rights, which had been denied for over sixty months.

“Indeed, it is just like a dream and really embarrassing for deploying policemen with fully arms to campus as bodyguards to the Provost in two vehicles loaded with AK47, on the 4th and 5th of this month, with numbering about twenty each day, we want to tell the world that TASCE Is Under Siege, government should try to find lasting solution to the crisis of this institution”, he said

The protesting staff who alleged that the embattled Provost of harassing them with policemen were seen with inscription on placards, such as ” Our Pay Is Our Right”, “We are hungry, Gov. Abiodun Please Save Our Souls”, “Pay Our Salaries and Put An End To Untimely Death”, ” Kiadese Must Go”, “Kiadese is a thief, he should be sacked”, among others.

The staff lamented that three months after Prince Dapo Abiodun assumed office, he has failed to listen to their cries and untold hardships subjected to due to nonpayment of their salaries, non remittance of their deduction and other arrears, saying that this was against the governor’s electioneering campaign promises.

They equally appealed to the governor to give the institution a governing council, maintaining that the absence of this important body in the institution for over eleven years was contributed very largely to myriad of challenges bedevilled the state’s owned college of education.

Meanwhile, a Lecturer in Computer Science Department, Mr. Olalere Abass said, “It was really unfortunate that 100 days after assuming office, the governor of the state, Prince Dapo Abiodun has decided not wipe away our tears despite promising us during campaign that he would come to our aid and do everything possible to resolve the problems engulfed the college”.

He said that since the governor came in, they have received only about 60 percent of their salaries for  the month of May and June, saying that nothing was received for the month of July and August, and emphasizing that how could the government expect them to continue working with empty stomach?

“In fact, many of us have become something else in our families, because we can not shoulder our responsibilities, some men have had their wives deserted them, many have died because they can not afford money for drugs”, he said

He then pleaded with the governor, to compassionately offset at least 10 months out of over 50 months backlog salaries owned them by the state government, so as to alleviate their poverty and reduce their plights and predicaments.

While reacting to the allegations, the Public Relations Officer of the college, Mrs. Olufisayo Olajide said that the deployment of armed policemen to the college has nothing to do with the Provost, noting that it was the state government that provided the college policemen with arms and ammunition to protect lives and property.

She added that the Provost was holding academic meeting with some staff and management of the college, while the aggrieved members of the college staged a protest which resulted to harassing and molestation of the staff of the college by policemen.

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