The Committee of Unions in Tertiary Institutions (CUTI) has distanced itself from the ongoing strike action in Colleges of Education.

A statement from CUTI Chairman, Mr Oladimeji Gegele, and the Secretary, Comrade Issa Mariam on Friday in Ilorin, said Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq's administration has done well for the education sector, even if there are always room for improvement.

According to the statement, the union also dissociated itself from the recent comment of the Joint Academic Staff Union in Tertiary Institutions (JASUTI).

“CUTI wishes to dissociate herself from a press release where the Governor was unnecessarily castigated by JASUTI (COEASU).

”We wish to set the record straight that His Excellency is committed to the development of Tertiary Education in Kwara State.

“As a Committee of Unions, it would be ungrateful of us to ignore the landmark and purposeful concern of the present administration in the advancement of Tertiary Education in the state,” the statement read in part.

It noted that AbdulRazaq's administration has shown reasonable commitment in resolving issues inherited from the last administration.

“So far, the government has shown reasonable commitment in resolving issues inherited from the last administration some of which included payment of outstanding salaries to workers of all the colleges.

”Also, there was a release of N70 million to the managements of Colleges of Education, Ilorin, Oro, Lafiagi and College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies (CAILS), this year.

”This is as a special grant in support of NUC accreditation for affiliated degrees courses in the colleges,” the statement read.

On the implementation of the N30,000 minimum wage and consequential adjustment, the statement said the Office of the Head of Service had inaugurated the negotiation committee on June 2, 2022.

”The committee comprises all the relevant Unions NASU, SSUCOEN and COEASU and negotiation is at its final phase.

”We are working on the draft of the agreement to seal the negotiation process and commence implementation of minimum wage with effect from July 1, 2022.

”We however urged the Government to consider an upward review of the monthly subvention to all colleges and release funds for the implementation of the agreement reached with government soonest.

“We wish to pledge our unalloyed loyalty to the government while engaging in dialogue to resolve all pending issues,” it stressed.

(NAN)