Osun Assembly Recommends Reinstatement of Sacked Lecturers

Yinka Kolawole in Osogbo
The Osun State House of Asembly has recommended the reinstatement of some sacked teaching and non-teaching staff of the state-owned tertiary institutions.

The Speaker, Hon, Najeem Salaam, dropped the hint during the presentation of the report of the house adhoc committee investigating the disengagement of the teaching and non-teaching staff of the institution at the plenary.

The management of the Osun State Polytechnic, Iree; Osun State College of Technology, Esa-Oke; and the Osun State Colleges of Education, Ilesa and Ila-Orangun, disengaged about 204 lecturers and non-teaching staff of the institution.

The assembly subsequently set up adhoc committees to investigate the circumstance surrounding the actions, the report of which were presented and adopted following a motion by the leader of assembly, Timothy Owoeye, and seconded by the Chief Whip, Folorunsho Bamisayemi.

Salaam said the reports have been deliberated upon at the executive session and justice has been done to them, saying the Assembly would follow it to the letter to ensure that the recommendations of the house are implemented.

He said: “I want to say that in the report, people have been reinstated and the committees confirmed where necessary, the decision of the councils.
“In the course of the investigations, the committees went through all the records of those involved and the reasons for their reinstatement or otherwise have been stated by the committees in the report.

“So, for the lecturers and other affected staffers, there is nothing to fear because, justice has eventually prevail on their matter,” said.
According to him, the Assembly during the course of the investigation took into consideration the extent to which it could go as an arm of government, saying, it has not gone beyond its power.

He stressed that the adoption of the report by the House has made it compulsory for all concern stakeholders to comply with the directives of the state House of Assembly as stated in the report.
Salaam then cautioned the Governing Council of the institution not to go against the decision of the assembly or hide under the matter to make it look as if the lawmaker are loggerheads with the executive.

According to him, the Assembly found out that after it gave a directive that the status quo should remain until the investigation was concluded on the matter, some of the institutions complied, while some still engaged in sacking of workers
He stressed that the action was against the order of house and declared it null and void.
Noting that Aregbesola is a man that believes in the rule of law and always abides by the decision of the assembly, he said the Assembly would not allow anyone, inside or outside the government to jeorpadise that relationship.