Ooni Of Ile To The Rescue Over Sacked Teaches In Ogun State
The Nigerian Union of Teachers (NUT) has contacted the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Ogunwusi to intervene in the feud between the Ogun State chapter of the union and the government.
Both parties have been at loggerheads over the refusal of the government to reinstate three of its sacked members.The government had in October 2016 sacked 34 teachers, including the chairman of the state NUT, Comrade Dare Ilekoya, over an alleged “misconduct” during the celebration of the World Teachers’ Day.
NUT National President, Comrade Michael Alogba spoke in Abeokuta yesterday at the opening ceremony of the 6th “Quadrennial Ogun Delegates’ Conference.”The government had alleged that the affected teachers involved themselves in partisan politics by “accepting money” from a politician whose praises they sang during the celebration. It later recalled 31 of the teachers following an appeal by the national leadership of the NUT.
The NUT leader said national executive of the union visited the Ooni two weeks ago to seek his assistance in appealing to Governor Ibikunle Amosun, to pardon and reinstate the remaining three of its sacked members.
Alogba, who was represented by his second vice-president, Comrade Saka Adesiyan, said the recent step became necessary since all appeals to Amosun over the plight of the remaining three teachers had failed.
The Coordinating Secretary, NUT Ogun and Lagos states, Comrade Momodu Braimoh, confirmed the meeting with the Ooni of Ife.He said the national executive had written over 72 letters of apology to the state governor and had held seven press conferences on the matter to further show that the affected members were remorseful.
The state Head of Service, Abayomi Sobande, who underscored the importance of teachers in national development, urged them to make the election of the union, which holds today rancour free.
The Commissioner for Education, Science and Technology, Mrs Modupe Mujota, also commended the teachers, adding, “Standard of education is determined by the quality of the teachers.”
Source: The Guardian
