Kwara State Government has appealed to the striking workers of the state’s College of Education, Ilorin, to call off their strike to allow academic activities resume in the college.

The workers, comprise both the academic and non-academic staff unions operating under the aegis of Committee of Unions of Tertiary Institutions (CUTI) of the college’s chapter, had embarked on the strike since Monday as a way of ensuring their demands are met.

They are demanding a 100 percent payment of the Consolidated Polytechnic and College of Education Academic Staff Salary Structure (CONTEDISS) and improvement of infrastructures of the college among others while also protesting alleged misdeeds of the chairman of the institution’s governing council, Musa Yeketi.
Special Adviser to the governor on Labour Matters, Bisi Fakayode, said disputed issues have been addressed with emphasis that each party should correct its mistakes.

He said there are committees the government has set up which have already started looking into the issues of decay in  infrastructural facilities and payment of 100 per cent CONTEDISS which the workers raised, urging the workers to call off the strike and resume work immediately so as not to affect academic activities in the college.

The workers, who staged a protest at the gate of the college on Friday, said they would not call off their strike until all their demands are met.
Chairman of the CUTI, Sanni Ahmed who spoke during the protest said the College suffers infrastructural decay with lack of lecture theatres and office accommodation and asked the government to address the matter without further delay.
He said that the payment of 70 percent of CONTEDISS was no longer acceptable to them and said the payment should be 100 per cent which he claims is now the case in other parts of the country.
Ahmed also called for promotion of the junior members of the workers as recently done to some of the senior colleagues, said the workers were calling for the removal of the chairman of the governing council because of his alleged misdeeds.
Through a leaflet circulated, the workers alleged that Yeketi had sold many properties of the college under the disguise that he wants to reform the institution. They also alleged that he had increased the debt profile of the college from N1million to N5million, saying the council chairman is not qualified to occupy the post because “he is not a seasoned administrator or an educationist.

However, Yeketi has debunked allegations raised against him, asking the workers to produce evidence to establish the truth of the allegations they have made against him.