… Fixes Exam For December
Daud Olatunji
In a dramatic turn of events, the resilient workers of the Moshood Abiola Polytechnic (MAPOLY) have emerged victorious after a relentless strike over months of unpaid salaries.
The battleground shifted when Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, injected a much-needed financial lifeline, amounting to a staggering N480 million.
Abiodun Olatunde, Secretary of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics at MAPOLY, confirmed the monumental development in an exclusive interview with PLATFORM TIMES.
While announcing the suspension of the strike with effect next week Monday, Olatunde said he was speaking on behalf of other unions in the polytechnic, declaring that the students would write their second semester exam next Month.
He affirmed, “Yes exactly, His Excellency released to the Polytechnic N480m to clear three months’ salary. And that would have addressed, to a great extent, our agitation, and all other issues are internal issues which we are hopeful that the management and council will address immediately.”
The wind of change has swept across the polytechnic grounds as the workers, buoyed by the governor’s benevolence, chose to suspend their strike on Monday. Olatunde expressed gratitude for the government’s efforts in propelling MAPOLY forward.
When questioned about the allocation of the funds, Olatunde clarified, “With the agreement we have with the management at the meeting we held yesterday, we concluded that the three months should cover August, September, and October.”
However, the jubilation is tempered with the recognition of ongoing challenges. Olatunde shed light on the financial intricacies, stating, “As it is, we are in the middle of the month of November; we are hopeful that the management will do the needful to ensure that we have a lot of funds. However, that is not to say that we don’t have challenges.”
The diversification of revenue becomes a focal point, with Olatunde emphasizing the need for the polytechnic’s business arm to be propelled forward. He articulated, “We have been having issues with them. We don’t have a management that is really into business.
They are not into business; that is part of the issues we have been having with them. However, we are now prompting them to ensure that the business arm of the polytechnic is moved forward.”
Addressing the recurring need for subvention from the government, Olatunde appealed for an upward review. He stated, “Obviously, we need subvention from the government.
So far, the government had been giving MAPOLY N20.75m as subvention, and the monthly wage bill is N150/160m. We have appealed to His Excellency to kindly review upward the subvention to the polytechnic.”
While the salary battle sees progress, Olatunde revealed the existing outstanding issues. “Like I said, as regards the salary, it is not that we don’t have issues with salaries.
” We do have hope that if the management and the council do the needful, we should not wait too long before we have November and December salaries.”
In conclusion, Olatunde expressed gratitude for the state government’s intervention and outlined future plans.
“With the intervention of the state government and in fact as a mark of honor for his kind gesture, we thought that it will be good for us to suspend the strike action, and part of the agreement we reached with them is we are going to try as much as possible to conclude this session this year.”
The narrative of MAPOLY’s struggle and triumph stands as a testament to the perseverance of its workers, navigating financial storms with resilience and hope for a brighter future.
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