1. The attention of Kwara Progressive Youths for Sustainable Development (KPYSD) has been captured by a disturbing press statement by the highly esteemed Joint Academic Staff Unions of Tertiary Institutions, JSUTI, in kwara state.
2. The claims by JSUTI is not only disturbing but also smacks mischief because the same Kwara State Government under the leadership of Government Abdulfatai Ahmed defaulted in the payment of the 70% CONTEDISS for seven (7) months between 2018 and 2019 due to claim of dwindling revenue from the federation account.
3. This worrisome development coming at a period like this, importantly deserves our pressing attention as objective group to react by setting the records straight on the lingering industrial action in our state owned Colleges of Education.
4. Kwara State Government under the leadership of Governor Abdulfatai Ahmed reached an agreement with the unions of colleges of education to pay 100 percent CONTEDISS structure and immediately started the implementation of 70% CONTEDISS to the workers of the colleges of education.
5. It may interest us to note that upon the assumption of office of Governor AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq, he immediately ensured that the seven (7) months areas of salaries owed by his immediate predecessor were paid with about Seven Hundred Million Naira (N700,000,000:00) and the colleges of education who were once under locks and keys were re_opened for academic activities.
6. While we acknowledge the fact that there is continuity in Government. It is baffling that a union that kept mute over an agreement for more than eleven (11) years, is deliberately playing a political card by resulting to an industrial action few months to the 2023 general action.
7. It is worth mentioning that the Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq led administration recently released the sum of Seventy Million Naira (N70,000,000:00) each for College of Education, Oro and College of Education Ilorin for NUC accreditation for them to be able to affiliate and award university degrees. It is worth mentioning that the rare privilege of affiliation with university is only obtainable in about 25 percent of colleges of education in the country.
8. The same administration of Mallam AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq also ensured that those promoted between 2016 and 2019 without cash backing were cash backed and those due for promotion and were not promoted between the same period were duly promoted and adequately cash backed.
9.The present industrial action largely has to do with giving effect to the 2011 agreements between the State Government and the unions of colleges of education to pay them 100 percent CONTEDISS salary structure and gazette the 65 years retirement age for academic staffs of colleges of education as recently done by the Federal Government.
10. The present administration has tabled an offer of increased salary to the workers, which the unions turned down and have refused to call off the industrial action, in the interest of the students, while negotiation continues .
11. It can also be safely inferred that the palms greasing to the leadership of the Unions that led to the deliberate quietness between 2011 and 2019 is now missing today because it has not been sustained by the present administration, or alternatively, is being greased by the previous administration to sabotage the efforts of the AbdulRahman Abdulrazaq led administration.
12. Meanwhile, in a mischievous manner, the unions attempted a distinction between the revenues generated by the colleges of education and subvention gotten from the state Government by creating the impression that the Government has not been responsible for payment of their salaries; without averting their mind to the fact that the schools and revenues generated there from completely belong to the state government.
13. Finally, we hereby appeal to the leadership of the unions to stop playing petty politics with our students academic pursuit, as we will continue to enlighten and educate the student community and other relevant stakeholders on the true state of affairs in the state.