The management of Obafemi Awolowo University Ile-ife has disclosed that it’s ready to reopen campus for resumption of academic activities, insisting that safety measures against COVID-19 has been put in place.

ASUU lecturers in the university although said its members were ready to start work, but that government had not put measures in place for safe reopening of the school

ASUU’s concern came following NUC order to reopen all federal universities in the country on January 18.

The Chairman of ASUU at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Osun State, Dr Adeola Egbedokun, in a conversation with PUNCH noted that classroom and hostel situations in universities did not conform the COVID-19 measures.

Egbedokun further stated that no preparations have been put in place for the safe re-opening of the universities and urged parents to insist on safety before re-opening.

He said, “COVID-19 is very real and this second wave is as real as described. We cannot afford to toy with our health and the health of our dear students in the name of resumption, which is politically motivated.”

There are no preparations for safe re-opening of the universities and I think parents must insist on safe re-opening. The current classroom and hostel configurations in our universities do not in any way confirm with the PTF (Presidential Task Force) on COVID-19 protocols. There is no way universities can achieve that. I have said this elsewhere, that rather than for the government to have addressed the obvious deficits in the public universities during the lockdown and strike, they were playing to the gallery.”

But The spokesperson of OAU, Abiodun Olanrewaju, insisted that the university management was ready for the resumption and had put in place “a lot in relation to the COVID-19 protocols” in a bid to ensure safety.