The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has urged the Kogi State Government to reinstate 120 academic staff members of Kogi State University (KSU), Anyigba, who were dismissed in 2017. These lecturers were terminated for participating in a strike that demanded improved welfare, payment of salary arrears, academic allowances, proper university funding, and the preservation of university autonomy and academic freedom.
Comrade Onyibo Eze, Chairman of ASUU’s University of Nigeria (UNN) Chapter, made the appeal on Tuesday in Nsukka. He emphasized that KSU is part of the Nsukka Zone of ASUU, and therefore, issues affecting KSU-ASUU impact the entire Nsukka ASUU Zone. Eze described the termination as a violation of the lecturers’ rights and privileges.
The strike occurred after numerous attempts to negotiate with the then-governor, Yaya Bello, were unsuccessful. Instead of engaging in talks, Governor Bello responded by proscribing ASUU-KSU and dismissing the 120 academic staff, leading to legal action.
During proceedings at the Industrial Court of Nigeria, the Kogi State Government and KSU Management presented no allegations against the dismissed staff, aside from their participation in the strike, which was deemed insufficient grounds for termination.
Onyibo expressed sadness over the deaths of four senior members of the affected staff, attributing their passing to the hardship and psychological trauma they faced during their dismissal.
He also noted that Governor Bello’s administration had established a Visitation Panel that recommended the immediate reinstatement of the dismissed staff. However, this recommendation was not implemented before Bello left office.
The UNN-ASUU Chairman appealed to the current Governor, Ahmed Ododo, to use his authority to reinstate the dismissed academic staff as recommended by the Visitation Panel. He stated that doing so would not only heal the wounds of the past seven years for the affected lecturers but also correct the injustice they endured and bring relief to their families.