January 28, 2015 – Lagos State Government House, Alausa was a hot bed of protests today as two different groups stormed the Governor’s office for two different missions.
The first was a group of residents who go by the name Lagos Youths and members of the Joint Action Front (JAF) made up of members of the Academic Staff Union of University (ASUU), Lagos State University (LASU) chapter, led by its chairman and secretary, Dr. Dipo Fashina and Comrade Abiodun Aremu.
Members of JAF who were in government house to protest alleged repression of members of the local chapter and students while the Lagos Youths were on solidarity march for the All Progressive Congress (APC).
On their placards just in front of the office of the governor were messages such as “APC on top; APC Super Power; PDP Powerless Power and We Joined APC”.
While addressing the Lagos Youths, Lagos State Governor, Mr. Babatunde Fashola thanked them for taking a stand for the party, adding that they risk falling for everything if they fail to take a stand.
“You have as much stake as I do in this country as I do for the younger generation”, he said adding that the youths have a right to free and fair poll.
Members of JAF were however received at the gate by Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Aderemi Ibirogba and his counterpart in Rural, Mr. Cornelius Ojelabi.
Voicing their grievance, Dr. Deji Aboola, Chairman ASUU in Olabisi Onabanjo University(OOU), representing Zonal Coordinator of ASUU said they are in the State House to inform the governor as visitor to the university to obey the law that set up LASU.
“We are law abiding, we believe that the governor should obey the law of the university, we believe that the law is sacrosanct. He is supposed to come out and address us. He is the visitor of the university and we are here on behalf of all those people in the university so that he will know what is going on there. The law is clear that the visitor should visit the university once in every year”, he said.
He said the problem at LASU is enormous and that the law setting up the school is being violated.“We are having someone holding two simultaneous positions. How can somebody be holding position of Chief Corona of Lagos State that is renewable for a period of four years and be sitting as Vice Chancellor of the university”, he said.
He explained that people are being repressed everyday in LASU and that people go to work and they are not happy on the job.
He said here is too much rot in the university, stressing that Fashola must visit the university to know what is going on in the university. He said that the Vice chancellor is running the university like poultry and interfering with student union government and ASUU activities.
Also speaking on their demands, Dr. Dipo Fashina called on the governor to stop the Vice Chancellor, Professor John Obafunwa from victimization of students, lecturers and non-academic workers over their role in the last struggle against hike in school fees.
He called on the governor to save LASU from Obafunwa’s interference in union affairs, and destruction of academic freedom , reverse Obafunwa’s vindictive withdrawal of PhD certificates and interdiction of lecturers and workers whose struggle made the government to reverse exorbitant fee in LASU.
It also rejects Lagos State Government’s insistence on Obafunwa despite vote of no confidence on the VC, end impunity and abuse of LASU laws and regulation by Obafunwa, prevail on the university administration and government to meet all legitimate demands of staff unions and student unions, and reject attempt to increase school fees by any party that wins the election.
In his remarks, former Deputy Coordinator, National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) South West Zone, Mr. Ayantuga Adetola said that LASU authorities are yet to return excess of fees paid by students after the reversal of fees in the school.
