The Kogi state governor, Yahaya Bello, has appealed to members of the state university Academic Staff Union to call off their strike and resume work, promising to offset all their salaries and arrears.
Mr Bello, who visited the university at Ayagba, however said the lecturers who dragged the state government to court would not be part of the beneficiaries.
He said the payment would cover those on contract and study leave, as well as those employed in 2015.
“I am going to pay every single dime. Compute the arrears of all outstanding salaries. And for peace to reign, we will pay all including those on sabbatical, contract and study leave. We owe you this and we shall pay you,” he said.
He called on the lecturers not to politicise issues of education or reduce them to sentiments, saying that “Progress, development, advancement, breakthroughs, discoveries, innovations and inventions are supposed to be the hallmarks of this university but we can only achieve these if we are ready to face the reality.
“What future do we have as a people and as a nation if we allow the rot to continue; we must have a rethink.”
The governor warned those fighting the administration for selfish gains to refrain from their action.
Earlier, Adams Ahmad, chairman of governing council of the university, described the governor’s intervention as ‘divine’.
Mr Ahmad, a professor, who said the strike by the lecturers was avoidable, however, described the crises bedevilling the institution as “chronically endemic,” having accumulated over time and advised that it be tackled in phases.
The vice chancellor, Prof. Mohammed Abdulkadir, in his welcome address, appealed to the governor to provide adequate accommodation, electricity, transportation, water and health facilities for the staff and students.
Mr Abdulkadir said that the institution presently have 419 lecturers and would require 361 more academic staff to function efficiently and effectively in all departments.
Credit: Daily Nigerian
