By A scheduled meeting of the Congress of the College of Education Academic Staff Union (COEASU), Federal College of Education (FCE) Yola chapter, was on Wednesday suspended due to security concerns, following tensions arising from disciplinary measures proposed against three staff members of the institution.
The Chairman of COEASU in the college, Dr. Salihu Muhammad Umar, disclosed that the meeting was convened to address issues surrounding alleged sanctions placed on three academic staff who reportedly raised concerns on the institution’s management platform.
According to him, the affected staff had commented on a management group chat that their counterparts in some other institutions received two to three times higher payments, while staff of FCE Yola received only a single payment. The comments, which were perceived as critical of the college management, reportedly did not go down well with the authorities.
Dr. Umar explained that as a result of the development, management initially stipulated penalties against the three staff members. The sanctions allegedly included staying three years without promotion, writing a letter retracting their statements on the platform, and issuing a formal apology to the management.
He noted that as chairman of COEASU, he deemed it necessary to intervene in order to prevent what he described as excessive punishment and to protect the welfare and rights of union members.
“As a union, our responsibility is to ensure fairness and due process. We had to step in to resolve the matter amicably and avoid our members being subjected to harsh penalties,” he stated.
Dr. Umar further said the meeting was called to brief Congress members and collectively deliberate on the issue. However, due to security concerns, the gathering was suspended and will be rescheduled pending further decision by the college management.
He assured members that the union remains committed to dialogue and peaceful resolution of disputes, stressing that COEASU would continue to engage management constructively in the interest of industrial harmony within the institution.
The meeting is expected to be reconvened once the management communicates a new date and appropriate arrangements are put in place.
