ASUU’s Dismay: Federal Government’s Two-Month Salary Release Underwhelms
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s disbursement of two months’ salaries out of the seven and a half months that were withheld.
President Bola Tinubu had approved the release of four of the eight-month withheld salaries in October 2023, a measure taken during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari when a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy was enforced due to an eight-month strike by ASUU in 2022.
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However, recent reports from Ejes Gist News indicate that some union members have begun receiving truncated two-month salaries from the outstanding seven and a half months.
During a press conference in Abuja on Monday, ASUU Abuja zonal coordinator, Comrade Salahu Mohammed Lawal, expressed disappointment, stating that the two-month salary payment falls short of the union’s expectations.
He remarked, “This is far below the expectation of the union and further weakens the morale of our members and the union’s trust in government promises. We use this medium to call on all that are involved 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 fulfill its obligations by concluding, signing, and immediately implementing the Prof. Nimi Briggs Committee on Renegotiated Agreement, along with promptly paying all 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 is captured in the 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 are owing and stop being a bad debtor.”
Lawal also called on the federal and state governments to halt the proliferation of universities, emphasizing that while existing institutions lack adequate funding, new ones are continually being established, undermining the integrity of the university system.
