 |
| ASUU Considers Strike Due to Inadequate Remuneration |
The Academic Staff Union of Universities is contemplating a strike action if the federal government does not reassess its members' pay and sufficiently finance universities.
At a press briefing in Uyo on Monday, Comrade Happiness Uduk, the ASUU Calabar Zone Chairman, articulated these issues representing chairpersons from several institutions, including Abia State University, Akwa Ibom State University, Ebonyi State University, Federal University Ndufu-Alike, University of Cross River State, University of Calabar, and University of Uyo.
Uduk remarked that the salaries of university educators have remained unchanged for 15 years, in contrast to sectors such as the legislature, police, military, and judiciary, which have seen multiple salary revisions during the same timeframe.
She also pointed out that after the initial allocation of N200 billion from the N1.3 trillion pledged by the federal government in 2013 for the rejuvenation of public universities, there has been no subsequent funding.
She highlighted the discrepancy between this and the government's expenditure of N90 billion on pilgrimages, to the detriment of the educational sector.
In the meantime, the ASUU Abuja zone has shown dissatisfaction with the ongoing remuneration of members through the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), contrary to the federal government's instruction to exclude tertiary institutions from the system four months prior.
The ASUU Abuja zone coordinator, Salahu Mohammed Lawal, announced this at a press conference in Abuja yesterday.
The zone includes the University of Abuja; Federal University, Lafia; Federal University of Technology, Minna; Ibrahim Badamasi University, Lapai; and Nasarawa State University, Keffi.
He emphasized that this practice contravenes the agreement made at the stakeholders' meeting on January 11, 2024, at the National Universities Commission (NUC).
