FUTO Staff Protest Non-Promotion, Victimization

Workers in the Federal University of Technology, Owerri
(FUTO) have embarked on a protest against the leadership
of the university.
Under the auspices of the Senior Staff Association of
Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union
(NASU) and the National Association of Academic
Technologists (NAAT), the workers are protesting the non-
promotion of their members for over two years.
Addressing newsmen during the protest at the university
premises in Owerri, the Imo State capital, the chapter
chairman of SSANU, Loveth Ekwemalor, accused the
management of introducing unfriendly appraisal guidelines
to stagnate staff promotion as against what is contained in
the current university scheme of service.
They also accused the management of non-implementation
of the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETfund) ratio of
30:70 non-teaching and teaching staff conference ratio.
Responding to the allegations, the Deputy Vice Chancellor
(Administration) of the Federal University of Technology,
Owerri (FUTO) Mr Francis Eze, described the protest as
uncalled for and unwarranted.
He said that the university council had already set up a committee to address the issue of promotion and it
was expected that the union would wait for the outcome of the committee’s decision before embarking on
any protest.
Mr Eze said that it was not true that staff have not been promoted in the school over the last two years,
adding that the action by the three unions was ill-motivated and unwarranted.