Some of the workers recently sacked at the Ekiti State University, Ado Ekiti, have written to the institution demanding for their reinstatement within 30-day or face legal action.
The workers were among over 900 staff who were sacked in December 2019 for alleged certificate forgery, irregular appointment, overage and other sundry of allegations that contravened its condition of service.
In a letter entitled: “Letter on notice and pre-action notice”, dated January 22, 2020 written by their lawyer, Olabanjo Ayenakin of Banjo Ayenakin & Co to the institution’s Registrar, Olusola Arogundade, with copies made available to journalists in Ado Ekiti on Friday, the workers alleged that their disengagement contravened the operational public service rules and regulations.
Ayenakin stated, “We the solicitors to Mrs Oyinlola Omowumi Yinka, Mr Oke Sanmi and Mr Idowu Lawrence Tosin (for themselves and on behalf of the 299 technologists, non teaching senior staff and junior staff of your institution, who were employed in 2016, but who were unlawfully disengaged on 5th December, 2019) of EKSU who are herein referred to as our client and on whose behalf this letter is caused to be written to you”.
The lawyers, who said that “the appointments of our clients were regular and proper; contrary to the insinuation that the appointments were irregular,” are seeking “immediate restatement of our clients; and payment of all the salaries of our clients which your institution owed them before they were wrongfully disengaged from their appointments.
The lawyers are also seeking “payment of all our clients’ salaries from the time of disengagement till now and thereafter; and promotion of our clients to the deserved position without prejudice to the disengagement”.
Ayenakin stated that EKSU disengaged “our clients on the grounds that their services were no longer required when our clients had not committed any offence, infraction or any act of misconduct and when our clients were not queried, disciplined or made to face any disciplinary panel.”
According to him, the Committee of the Governing Council had refused to budge even when the affected workers, in accordance with the letter of disengagement issued to them, “individually appealed to it that they committed no offence and that their disengagements were wrongful, null and void”.
