The protracted crisis that has been rocking the Lagos state-owned Polytechnic, otherwise known as LASPOTECH is getting messier by the day. This follows a bribery allegation introduced into the staff union and management crisis.
Following what has been described as the in-action of the Governing Council of the Lagos State Polytechnic by staff of the institution on the on-going strike action embarked upon by the various staff Unions, which has now degenerated into a matter of litigation at the industrial court case, a former Chairman of the Non Academic Staff Union, NASU, LASPOTECH Chapter, Mr Ogungbayi Adedayo, has alleged bribery of the Chairman and members of the polytechnic’s governing council.
He stated this on Monday, August 8th, 2017, during a peaceful protest staged by members of the striking Unions at the Ikorodu Campus of the institution. The Former NASU Chair said the members of the governing have been receiving illegal bank alert from the management of the school, led by the Rector; Mr Samuel Sogunro.
The NASU official said that the members of the institution’s Governing Council have all of a sudden become puppets in the hand of the Rector, failing to stop the management of the institution when it decided to drag the Unions to Court.
Mr Ogungbayi, added that with all the members of the Unions have been through with the school management, the Chairman of the Council has not shown solidarity with them. The union leader further said that the school management had lied to the state governor; Mr Akinwumi Ambode at the Convocation ceremony held earlier in the year, that asides meeting up with its obligation of paying salaries, it has also been able to pay six months from the CONTIS 15 Migration arrears—an evidence, he disclosed has also been submitted to the court against the management.
Speaking on the on-going strike action, Mr Adedayo said the Committee set up by the Lagos House of Assembly after looking into the polytechnic’s account had recommended that one year of the arrears should be paid. He added that but due to the failure of the State Legislature to work on the recommendations of its committee after five weeks as against the two weeks the house demanded of them, the Unions decided to resume their strike actions on July 31st, 2017.
