Scores of students of the Kwara State College of Arabic and Islamic Legal Studies on Wednesday protested over what they termed the disruption of their examination by the three-day warning strike embarked upon by the academic and non-academic staff of the institution.
The students, who matched around Geruwu junction, near their school at Adewole, Ilorin, carried placards with different inscriptions.
The college's Student Union Government President, Mr. Salaudeen Sodiq, who claimed that the students were over 1,500, said the strike had impeded their academic programmes. He called on relevant authorities to address the issues that led to the strike.
The striking workers included members of the Colleges of Legal and Allied Institutions Academic Staff Union, the Senior Staff Union of Colleges of Education in Nigeria and Non-Academic Staff Union of the Kwara State College of Islamic Legal Studies chapter.
The unions' members, under the aegis of Committee of Union of Tertiary Institutions, said the strike was as a result of the alleged non-cogent position of the Kwara State Government as regards what actual time the 10-month salary arrears it claimed the members were being owed would be paid and other related issues addressed.
CUTI branch Chairman, Mohammed Faruq, at a media conference, said the three-day warning strike commenced on Wednesday and would last till Friday.
He claimed that the union leaders had met at the Government House with the Kwara State Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Science and Technology, Dr. Aminat Ahmed, and her team, without arriving at an amicable solution.
But the state Governor, Alhaji Abdulfatah Ahmed, during an interactive session with journalists, had said he was pained when workers were not paid their entitlements.
He, however, said strike was not the best approach to resolve salary arrears when the state government was financially challenged.
He reiterated the resolution of his government to ensure that salary arrears were paid as soon as funds were available.
He added that the state government had commenced modalities to reduce wastage and ensure prompt and regular payment of genuine workers in the state.
Ahmed said, "If people understand what is going on in Nigeria, they will know that one solution to the problem is not strike. Strike is no solution to the problem because if you are not paid because there is no money, strike will not change it.
"But if you are agitating for a benefit and the money is there but you are not being paid because of a policy, then you can go on strike so that strike will change the policy and you get more money. But when there is no money, strike will not change anything. What will help is our coming together and having a dialogue."
