Academic activities in the nation’s universities may again be paralysed as members of the Academic Staff Union Of Nigeria Universities (ASUU) warns of fresh rounds of strike over alleged refusal of the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) to pay salaries and remit check-off dues of about 1000 staff for 13 months.

Chairman, University of Jos branch of ASUU, Dr. Lazarus Maigoro, accused the AGF of allegedly causing friction between the union and Federal Government, which may trigger another round of strike.

ASUU President, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, said despite its promise to the union to pay all outstanding salaries before December 31, 2020, government is still owing members in many of the branches between two to 16 months salaries.

Osodeke alleged that government is withholding members’ salaries to force them to enroll for Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).

This we believe is also aimed at deliberately frustrating the implementation of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS), the payment platform developed by ASUU.

He said the union has got to a stage where it may be forced to take drastic measures to save the lives and families of its members.

“We call on all well- meaning Nigerians to advise those responsible that this path will force us to take very drastic measures. Invariably, it is the children of all Nigerians in these institutions that would suffer and not just ASUU members.

MEANWHILE, the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), has advised the Federal Government to withdraw its circular directing that workers of Staff Schools should not be captured in the 2022 budget.

SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, warned that the union would embark on industrial action if government fails to heed the union’s request.

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The union announced the suspension of the strike takes effect from Thursday, December 24th, 2020.

https://twitter.com/ASUUNGR/status/1341663748558376963

ASUU National President, Biodun Ogunyemi made the announcement during a meeting of the union in Abuja, he explains that the development followed the agreement reached with the Federal Government and a series of meetings with its National Executive Council (NEC).

Ogunyemi also warns that the union would return to strike without notice if the government fails in meeting its part of the agreement reached with the university lecturers, he noted that the reopening of the schools, considering the COVID-19 pandemic, lies with the Federal Government and senate of the universities.

Professor Ogunyemi thanked students and their parents for their understanding throughout the nine-month period and said: “no amount of sacrifice would be too much to get the matter resolved as long as the government is consistent with its commitments.”

The post ASUU Conditionally Suspends Nine-Month-Old Strike appeared first on AFRICA EXPLAINED.

This is happening at a time when the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had been on an indefinite strike since March over funding issues related to IPPIS and non-implementation of agreements the federal government reached with it in 2009.

Integrated Payroll and Personel Information System IPPIS is a salary payment scheme which the government claim will lead to better efficiency in tertiary education funding, but lecturers claim is an attempt to further infringe on university autonomy.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Makolo Hassan, president of NASU, said the union was warming up for a total shut down of tertiary educational institutions in the country.

“For almost 10 years, the government has failed to honour the content of the agreement it freely entered into with the Joint Research and Allied Institutions Sector Unions as contained in the year 2010 JORAISU/FGN Agreement,” he said.

“The listed issues include payment of 12 months arrears of 53.37 per cent salary increase, peculiar allowances and earned allowances.

“Also, the retirement age of 65 years for Non-Research staff as obtainable in the universities, withdrawal of circular on non-skipping of Salary Grade Level 10, that is the National Industrial Court’s judgement delivered in favour of the trade unions.

“Others include the establishment of a central body to be known as National Research Institutes Commission, adequate funding of Research Institutes and release of conditions of service.”

The union leader accused the government of refusing to pay attention to the union in spite of several reminders, strikes and memorandum of understanding entered into with the government on the matter.

“We, therefore, use the opportunity of this meeting to request the government to act speedily, particularly on the issue of the 12 months arrears,” he added.

“Except some concrete steps are taken within the next 14 days, NASU members in all the research institutes in Nigeria will be compelled to commence strike to press home their demand in this regard.”

The union leader also said that the government had not lived up to its promise of a hitch-free migration on the IPPIS. According to him, IPPIS has demonstrated a high level of incompetence and inefficiency.

He added that the union’s experience since it migrated to the platform had been a painful one.

“All efforts to get government and the office of the Accountant General of the Federation to redress the noticeable shortcomings has not yielded a positive result. The noticeable shortcomings include non-payment of salaries to some staff, underpayment of salaries, non-payment of approved allowances as contained in the year 2009 FGN/NASU Agreement as well as failure to pay check-off dues to the union as and when due,” Hassan said.

“Others are nonpayment of promotion arrears, non-deduction of welfare scheme, high taxation, non-release of pay-slips to workers, delay in payment of salaries and non-release of schedule of payments made.

“In the face of these challenges and the lukewarm attitude of the government and IPPIS office toward redressing these shortcomings, NASU may have no choice than to embark, as soon as possible, on a full-blown strike in the universities and inter-universities centres.

“Also, in polytechnics and colleges of education, except something is done very urgently to positively remedy the situation.”

For the past nine months, students in Nigerian public universities have been at home due to lecturers’ strike, if NASU goes on strike, students in polytechnics and colleges of education will also be affected.

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On Friday, the Federal Government agreed to exempt ASUU from the IPPIS and also increased the academic earned allowance to N70bn. This and some other issues were the major bone of contention between ASUU and the FG.

prof. Ogunyemi in an interview with newsmen explained that ASUU members across the country needed to determine the extent to which the government was planning to meet their demands.

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“Consultation is still ongoing, we are still consulting. Those who will bring the results are still going about collecting, it is when they have finished consulting that they will collate and bring the report to us. People are in the field interacting with our members.

“We didn’t close our universities. ASUU didn’t close universities. ASUU members withdrew their services when the government decided to starve them and the government failed to review their condition of services.

“If the demands have been met you would have heard. What is happening now is to determine the extent to which the government is planning to meet the demand.”

Ogunyemi also said it was not easy to suspend the ongoing strike as he does not have the sole power to do so.

Ogunyemi while reacting to the reports that ASUU would soon call off the over nine-month strike after the Friday meeting with the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, said he was waiting for feedback from their members across the country.

He said, “I made it clear that I don’t have the power to call off the strike. It is when we get feedback from the branches, then we will collate the responses and get back to the Federal Government. That is why we always tell the government not to allow ASUU to go on strike. Before we go on strike, we would have issued several warnings.

“It is not easy for ASUU to suspend the strike; we have to go back to those who empowered us to declare it. It is not something the leadership will just go to the meeting and say, now we have suspended, it can never happen in ASUU, that is the difference between ASUU and other unions, everyone will have input in decision making.

“Our meeting on Friday was to give a report on the feedback collected from our members earlier in the week. We, as representatives of ASUU, are taking some new proposals from the government to our members. We shall return to the Ministry after consultation with the various organs of the union.”

He added that he was indifferent to all the government’s offers as the final decision rest with the members.

“I can’t say anything about the offers; we don’t say that to anybody. If I say anything on it, it will influence the opinions of our members, so let them do their assessment, we are just like messengers,” Ogunyemi said.

Incessant ASUU strikes are badly affecting the Nigerian educational system with most students unable to graduate as at when due. Investigations reveal strikes have disrupted academic activities across Nigerian universities a combined total of 48 months in just the last 20 years alone.

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