UNILAG school protest disrupts teaching, exams

Teaching and a mid-term examination were disrupted on Wednesday as staff of the International School, University of Lagos, protested the alleged removal of their names from the university’s payroll and the failure to implement a court judgment in their favour.

The protesting workers gathered at the school’s main gate, chanting solidarity songs while demanding the restoration of their names to the payroll and payment of outstanding allowances and other benefits.

The pedestrian gate remained open throughout the protest, allowing students to enter the premises.

However, the workers said the mid-term examination was not conducted, and teaching activities were suspended.

The protesters held placards bearing inscriptions like: “Equal Work, Equal Rights; ISL tutors deserve their due; Other UNILAG staff paid, ISL tutors still owed; Same university, Same commitment, Same rights.”

Speaking with The PUNCH in front of the ISL gate, the Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, University of Lagos chapter, Dr Ademola Yusuf, said the dispute had persisted for years, with the affected workers allegedly excluded from the university’s payroll without explanation.

Yusuf said the workers discovered the omission when they attempted to register on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System but were informed that their names were not on the platform.

Yusuf said, “All of a sudden, whimsically and capriciously, our names were removed from the payroll.

“We did not know until the issue of IPPIS came on board and we gathered to do the capture. Finally, we were not allowed to capture because they said they had removed our names.”

He argued that the workers’ names were initially restored following the intervention of the then Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council, Wale Babalakin, but were removed again after their salaries were paid in February 2020.

“We were paid in February, only for them to remove our names again by March. What did we do? They gave no reason whatsoever,” Yusuf said.

He maintained that the affected workers were employees of the university’s governing council and should enjoy the same rights and benefits as other staff members.

“The way the vice-chancellor was employed is the way we were employed. We all have the same letters. So, what offence did we commit? Why did you remove our names?” he queried.

Yusuf said the workers subsequently approached the National Industrial Court of Nigeria, which ruled in their favour on May 11, 2026.

He claimed that, despite the judgment, the university had yet to fully address their grievances, including the restoration of their names to the payroll and payment of outstanding benefits.

“The only thing we are aware of is that they are in the dark about whether they will appeal or not appeal. That judgment is still lying on the table till now,” he said.

Yusuf also raised concerns over the non-payment of some allowances, including outstanding components of the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Allowance, saying the affected workers had continued to engage the university authorities without a satisfactory resolution.

He said the workers were prepared to escalate their action if their demands were not addressed, adding that the dispute had affected staff members beyond the teaching department.

Also speaking, a tutor at the school, Asaju Toye, who said he had worked there for 31 years, alleged that the university had failed to implement the court judgment despite repeated appeals by the workers and their lawyer.

Toye said the workers were recruited by the university’s governing council and had previously enjoyed benefits available to other university staff before their names were removed from the payroll.

He said the problem became apparent in 2019 when the affected workers attempted to register on the IPPIS platform and were informed that their names had not been pre-loaded.

According to him, their names were temporarily restored following the intervention of the then Pro-Chancellor, but were removed again in March 2020.

Toye said the court subsequently upheld the workers’ claims that they were university employees entitled to the same rights and privileges as other staff members.

“We are asking for obedience to the court order, to restore us to the payroll, like every other federal government staff in the university,” he said.

He added that the workers were also demanding outstanding benefits, including arrears arising from salary adjustments and allowances.

Toye said about 60 staff members remained affected, down from more than 100 initially involved in the dispute, following the retirement of some workers.

He said the school principal addressed the protesters on Wednesday morning but did not provide assurances that their demands would be met.

The workers said they would continue their protest indefinitely while awaiting the outcome of discussions with the university management.

When contacted for the university’s response to the protest and the workers’ allegations, its spokesperson, Adejoke Alaga-Ibraheem, promised to respond.

She had yet to do so as of the time of filing this report.