FCET Provost Seeks FG’s Urgent Intervention in Resolving Crisis at the College, Demands Increased Security to Protect Lives and Property on Campus

The Provost of the Federal College of Education (Technical) Akoka, Lagos, Dr. Ademola Azeez, has sent a call for help to the Federal Government, the Ministry of Education, and the police to urgently intervene in the crisis affecting the college.

He also raised an alarm over threats to his life and that of his family by some staff members, adding that he has been locked out of his office and prevented from performing his official duties for the past month.

The troubled provost raised this alarm during a session with journalists via Zoom, providing an account of the crisis and emphasizing the need for a quick resolution.

He stated that the instigating staff members have been protesting on campus for his removal, physically assaulting him and humiliating his family members in their residence on campus.

Dr. Azeez disclosed that the dissenting staff have issued a seven-day ultimatum for his family to vacate the Provost’s Lodge or face the consequences.

He demanded increased security on campus to protect lives and property, noting that he has handled the crisis with maturity since it began, seeking an amicable resolution, but all efforts have been to no avail.

Providing insight into the crisis, the Provost said that trouble started when he was reappointed for a second term on May 26, 2023. He added that workers under the Joint Action Committee, comprising the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria (SSUCOEN) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of the branch, opposed the development to thwart his return.

He explained that the unions initially based their argument on a new College Act (2023), which permits provosts of colleges of education in the country to serve only a single term of five years, as opposed to the previous arrangement of two terms of four years each.

According to him, instead of allowing the law to take its course and for peace to reign in the college, a few workers, operating under the name “Concerned Staff,” have continued to disrupt the academic and administrative activities of the college.

He noted that the national bodies of both SSUCOEN and NASU, which initially supported the opposition against him, later withdrew their support after realizing that the new Act does not affect his eligibility for a second term.

The Provost stated that his tenure over the past four years has seen numerous achievements in academics, research, and innovation, contrary to the claims of what he described as “a few malicious elements” within the system.

He noted that his family members were assaulted twice by the protesters: first on May 29, and again on Wednesday, June 26, when they stormed the Provost’s Lodge to enforce the quit notice.

Dr. Azeez called on those instigating trouble to allow peace to prevail, enabling the 57-year-old college to continue its pivotal role in the country’s development.

In response, Augustine Nwachukwu, one of the protest leaders and Chairman of SSUCOEN, stated that the entire staff of the college, totaling about 800 members, along with the students, oppose the Provost’s reappointment.

In an interview, Nwachukwu cited their grievances against the Provost, including high-handedness, tyrannical leadership, and gross incompetence in managing one of Nigeria’s foremost colleges.

He accused the Provost of neglecting staff welfare, failing to maintain student hostels, not signing student certificates for years, and illegally converting the home economics laboratory into a residential apartment.