Staff of the Edo State College of Agriculture, Iguoriakhi, are currently protesting the prolonged closure of the Institution by the State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki.
CAMPUS GIST reports that the College of Agriculture staff, in their numbers, on Thursday, took to major streets in Benin City under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of the Institution.
They accused the Governor Obaseki-led Edo State Government of being insensitive to their plight. Spokesperson for the protesters, said the College had been shut for over 3 years now.
He said Governor Obaseki had shut the college under the guise that it was due for renovation and revamping, yet, three years later, the School had remained closed.
The Iguoriakhi staff lamented that high-hopes of resumption by their students have been hanging for three years now, with those who had few weeks to graduate or serve currently stranded.
Today’s protest makes it about three times the College staff would be protesting in the last 30 days. A similar protest by staff of the College of Education, Ekiadolor – over salary arrears – held last week.
Even though an Industrial Court sitting in Ondo had declared the closure of Iguoriakhi college as unlawful, ordering immediate reopening and payment of outstanding salaries to staff, CAMPUS GIST gathered that the state government is yet to honour the court order since last year.
Efforts to obtain comment from Special Adviser to the Governor on Media and Communication Strategy, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, were unsuccessful. He had, however, dismissed previous protests by the Institutions’ staff as being “politically-motivated.”