FG clears additional 2 months salaries backlog, as ASUU demands for complete payment
…Payment of two months out of seven far below expectations — ASUU
…ASUU demands payment of promised EAAs as 2023 budget remains unfulfilled
By Sodiq Adelakun
The Federal Government has begun the process of paying the salaries that were withheld from academics who are members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Multiple sources within the academic sector have confirmed this development, which comes as a relief to many affected individuals.
Prof. Gbolahan Bolarin, the chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, confirmed the news, stating, “Yes, it is true. Payment has started rolling in.”
This announcement follows President Bola Tinubu’s approval in October 2023 to release four out of the eight months’ worth of salaries that were withheld from ASUU members.
The salaries were initially withheld when the previous administration, under President Muhammadu Buhari, implemented a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against university-based unions that participated in an eight-month strike in 2022.
This policy aimed to discourage strikes and ensure that workers are only paid for the days they actually work.In addition to the salary payments, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, recently announced that the government has increased the salaries of university workers by 35 percent.
This increase is expected to alleviate some of the financial burdens faced by academics and improve their overall welfare.
The Minister also said the government has granted autonomy to the universities by removing them from the Integrated Payment and Payroll Information System.
He added that the universities no longer need a waiver to recruit and fill vacancies.
“These resolutions were reached through informal consultations with the unions basd in the tertiary institutions,” Mamman said.
Speaking at a press confrence in Abuja on Moday, ASUU Abuja zonal coordinator, Comrade Salahu Mohmmed Lawal, said the payment of the two months’ salarie is far below the expectation of the union.
He said, This is far below the expetation of the union and furtherweakens the morale of ourmembers and the union’ trust in government promises.
“We use thismedium to call on all that are inolved in this inglorious act to do the needful with regards lecturers’ withheld salaries as there is nothing more to prove.”
Lawal urged the federal government to live up to its expectations by concluding, signing and immediately implementing the Prof. Nimi Briggs Committee on Renegotiated Agreement and immediately pay all the withheld salaries, promotion arrears and Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
He added, “It is obvious that the Nigerian government is known for not fulfilling their promises as Federal and State governments are owing various allowances and arrears all over our campuses.
“The promised payment of arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAAs) which as captured in 2023 budget has not been paid. It might interest you to know that promotion arrears are being owed lecturers as far back as 2018 on some campuses. It is high time to pay up what you owe and stop being a bad debtor.”
Lawal urged both the federal and state governments to halt the increasing number of universities, expressing his concern that the current universities are not receiving sufficient funding. He criticised the establishment of more universities, stating that it is undermining the credibility of the entire university system.
