THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has once again tackled the Federal Government over the nonpayment of salaries of some lecturers at the University of Maiduguri and Micheal Okpara Univesity of Agriculture, Umudike, Abia State for the past six months.
Ayoola Akinwole, Chairman of ASUU, University of Ibadan said this in a statement alleging that the Federal Government was using propaganda against the union.
“As of today, October 4, 2020, ASUU members are being owed three months’ salaries. In some universities like MOAU and UNIMAID our members have not received their salaries for up to six months,” Akinwole said.
He further alleged that the Federal Government has also ‘criminally withheld’ five months deductions from members of the union.
“The Federal Government, through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation, has criminally withheld five months’ (February to June 2020) check-off deducted from our members’ salaries without remittance to the union.
“The government has forcefully enlisted our members into the National Housing Fund scheme and has consistently been illegally deducting money for this from our members’ salaries,” he noted.
Akinwole threatened that the strike would continue if the Federal Government does not stop telling ‘lies and propaganda against the union.
“Our ongoing total, comprehensive and indefinite strike action will continue if this propaganda and lies against ASUU by appointees and representatives of the Federal Government like the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, persists,” the Chairman said.
Chris Ngige, the Nigerian Minister of Labour and Productivity had said the Federal Government has been paying members of the union since the outbreak of COVID-19 adding that the strike would ‘soon come to an end’.
“The issue of ASUU will soon come to an end. Two reasons – ASUU has called the Federal Government, represented by Finance and the Accountant-General Office and their direct employers, the Ministry of Education to come for the test.”
“We are ready to do that. After the independence day celebration, the four ministries and agencies involved will gather together with ASUU. We will look at the UTAS. If there are shortcomings with IPPIS as complained which UTAS have corrected. What’s wrong about it? It is software, we will look at it.”
“Secondly, ASUU members have been collecting their money since COVID-19 came and I wrote a memo to Mr president that ASUU members are still Nigerians. Even the members have families that they care for. By upper week, we are going to arrange for this demonstration,” Ngige said.
Lukman Abolade is an Investigative reporter with The ICIR. Reach out to him via labolade@icirnigeria.org, on twitter @AboladeLAA and FB @Correction94