Hundreds of protesting students of the Lagos State Polytechnic, Ikorodu, took over Ikorodu Road on Thursday to protest against the crisis that has grounded academic activities in the school.

The students sang solidarity songs and carried placards with different inscriptions like “Library is down, medical is down, no electricity, save our soul,” as they marched peacefully to the Governor’s office at Alausa in Ikeja to appeal to him to intervene in the crisis.

The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of the Polytechnic had been having issues with the management over salary arrears and de-migration of their salary structure, leading to a strike since January.

WuzupNaija reports that the union recently called for the removal of the Polytechnic Rector Samuel Sogunro and his management team over allegations of highhandedness, maladministration and financial recklessness.

The disagreement between the management and the workers degenerated to a crisis on Wednesday when members of the NASU blocked the entrance of the school’s main campus in Ikorodu, shutting down activities in the school.

According to some of the students of the Polytechnic, the action of the NASU members almost turned bloody as police officers deployed to the scene fired tear gas to disperse the protesting workers, forcing staff and students to scamper for safety.

Peeved by the crisis which seems not to be ending soon, students of the Polytechnic embarked on a protest to call his attention to the lingering crisis in order to allow them to commence their second-semester exams scheduled to begin in few weeks.

The students who marched to the Governor’s office had been addressed by a senior official of the state government and were returning to their school when they met the convoy of Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.

The students blocked the governor’s convoy and insisted they want to see him.

Sanwo-Olu, who later stepped down from his car to address the students, promised to intervene in the crisis.

 

See photos: