Management of the Ekiti State University (EKSU), Ado Ekiti, on Thursday announced the reinstatement of 363 workers sacked recently by the institution.
The decision to recall the sacked workers was reached by the Prof. Bamitale Omole-led Governing Council at its meeting of January 7, 2020, following the adoption of the report of the management committee set-up to review the report of an external audit firm, DEVTAGE Ltd that recommended their retrenchment.
The institution’s management had on December 5, 2019 disengaged over 900 of its workforce for alleged certificate forgery, irregular appointment, overage and other sundry allegations that contravened its conditions of service.
The vice chancellor said the workers were sacked after the adoption of the report of the private audit firm contracted to audit the institution’s finances and its workforce.
This, he said, was consequent upon the recommendation of the Prof. Bode Asubiojo-led visitation panel set up by Governor Kayode Fayemi, which identified among other things over staffing, redundancy and personnel misalignment in the university as the problems hindering the institution from paying its workers.
But the Joint Action Committee (JAC) comprising SSANU, NASU, NAAT and the EKSU Alumni Association led by Dr. Oludotun Adetuberu condemned the “indiscriminate mass disengagement,” saying the reason for the action was unjustifiable and anathema to the operational rules and regulations of public service.
A statement on Thursday by the EKSU Head, Directorate of Information, Mr. Bode Olofinmuagun, said the recall was sequel to the appeal lodged with the institution’s Governing Council by those affected.
According to him: “The Governing Council of Ekiti State University at its Special Meeting on January 7, 2020 approved the reinstatement of 363 members of staff who were recently disengaged by the University.
“The Staff Audit recently carried out clearly exposed the fact that many of the disengaged staff were overaged, some with fake certificates, some falsified their ages, some were illegally recruited and many were indeed ghost workers who never showed up for the exercise.
“The reinstatement of some the staff, according to the Vice-Chancellor, Professor Edward Olanipekun, was a vindication of the fact that the exercise was not to witchhunt any member of staff but carried out to reposition the university for better service delivery so that EKSU can become a university of reference nationally and in the global intellectual market of the 21st century.”
However, workers of the Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital (EKSUTH) under the auspices of Joint Health Sector Unions (JOHESU) have resolved to embark on an indefinite strike from Monday if the management fails to reverse the “unlawful” sack of its members.
JOHESU Chairperson, Omotola Farotimi, said yesterday that the strike was supposed to start today, but the management of the hospital had been given three more days to have a rethink on the issue.
Farotimi said although the management had given the others affected opportunity to resume work, the action must be backed with a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extract assurance before they could go back to their duty posts.
He said: “We have given the management another extension of three days and it will end on Sunday, January 12 and if nothing is done before that day, there will be total shutdown of the system at EKSUTH from Monday, January, 13.
“The management said they have told some workers to return to their duty posts, but we don’t want verbal assurance. Let them back it with a letter and this must be done before Sunday.
“We thank God that the engagement we had with the management is yielding positive results. Those compulsorily retired have been recalled and we want others who were illegally sacked to return to work to guarantee industrial harmony.”
Farotimi faulted the disengagement of some workers on the claims that they were employed in 2018 when there was embargo on employment.
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