THE management of the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU)
Ile-Ife, on Monday, ordered students to vacate the campus,
after its emergency Senate meeting held on Sunday.
Nigerian Tribune authoritatively gathered that the closure,
which the institution management described as as mid-
semester break was necessitated by the continuous protest
and shut down of facilities on the university campus by
workers, under the aegis of the Non-Academic Staff Union
(NASU).
The NASU members, had last Wednesday, embarked on a
warning strike and protests to demand the payment of
their hazard allowances for about 64 months.
While the protests lasted, the aggrieved workers shut down
the school gate and other facilities, including the university
senate building and library, halting vehicular movements in
and outside the institution.
Speaking on the closure, the university Public Relations
Officer (PRO), Mr Biodun Olarewaju contended that the
university only declared a ‘mid-semester break’ not closure.
He said it was untrue that the break was connected to the
protest by workers of the university, stressing that the
school only wanted its students to go and have a rest.
According to Olanrewaju “at the emergency meeting of
yesterday (Monday), the senate has approved that the
management give the students mid-semester break, not
closure. We will communicate to you in due course. The
students should enjoy their Sallah celebration.”