A Youth Activist in Adamawa State, Engr. Mustapha Mohammed Mandara, Mnse foresee a coming protest by the students of the state university in Mubi over what he described as forceful and illegal retirement of many non teaching staffs of the institution.
Mandara raised an alarm that the retirement of the Adamawa State University Mubi (ADSU) Senior staff has violated the 1st July 2009 agreement between the SSANU & Federal Government agreement which covers laws governing all university regulations in Nigeria irrespective of their status of ownership.
According to him, the agreement covers universities owned by the Federal, State Government, or Private organizations and individuals and as such is calling on the attention of the ADSU to review their retirement policy.
While calling on the Governor of the State, Rt Hon Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri to mediate on the issue, he worried that students of the institution are not happy with the sad development and that may bring about a possible protest.
Engineer Mustapha however called on the students to be calm not to take laws into their hands as the Governor and the management of ADSU are capable of resolving all lingering issues.
The activists in an interview with TG NEWS further said their retirement is political and personally targeting some group of people as many staffs cloaked sixty years of age and are still serving in the university,
“As a Youth activist whose major interest is on education in Adamawa state, Nigeria our country of glory. I am highly disappointed when I learn about the forceful and illegal retirement of some senior staff of ADSU by the school council.
“Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri may not be aware of this development, he may not have probably entertain such an illicit act. But Sir (Fintiri) I’m please begging you to look into the matter, is generating tension by unhappy students who see the decision as detrimental to their academic pursuits.
“May I also call the attention of the students to please behave within the purview of the law as to not cause chaos or create riot or violent acts capable of affecting their studies.
“This I know too well his Excellency, Governor Fintiri Will take good majors through the school management to make sure things work well in the interest of both parties,” Mandara said
Belmond Benson, ADSU Information and Protocol Officer have dispelled the alarm raised by Mandara as an empty one which substance cannot be substantiated.
He said Mandara is not aware of the new law in place created by the Adamawa state House of Assembly and which was accented to by Governor Ahmadu Umaru Fintiri.
According to him the young man is not properly briefed on the issue and didn’t do his homework to have the right knowledge of what is happening in the institution.
He, therefore, called on the general public to disregard his infant knowledge and views over the retirement that took place in ADSU.
To put the record straight, Belmond denied any possible looming crisis that will be because of the students as academic activities are going on well without hitches in the institution.
He said the retirement is a result of the new law signed by the Governor created by the state’s lawmakers from sixty years to sixty-five.
“It’s just an issue of law. The school council made efforts for the new law to accommodate those with sixty years to allow them to enjoy sixty-five years at the time the law was signed but was not possible because the law cannot be applied in retrospect. Laws takes effect the day they were accepted to.
“This is the position of what happened, no one was forcefully retired. It was a review of the law on non teaching staff from sixty to sixty-five years signed by the Governor in January this year.
” So there was no illegal retire and no one was forcefully asked to retire before his or her time,” Belmond said
