By Foluso Adelaja
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) may be towing the warpath again as it heads for another showdown with the Federal Government over half salaries paid its members for October 2022.
The university lecturers who suspended their eight months strike barely a month ago has again called its NEC meeting, its war council to deliberate on their next step following their rejection of the Federal Government’s payment of half salary for the month of October.
The National Executive Committee (NEC) of ASUU is meeting today at the University of Abuja to decide whether to go back on strike or not.
ASUU members called off their strike on 14th of October and resumed work the next day, meaning they only work for 18 days of the last month.
The Federal government had insisted on implementing the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy for the period the university teachers were away from their duty posts.
This decision of the Federal Government infuriated ASUU whose some of its affiliates have already issued a stay at home order to its members.
It will be recalled that the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila waded into the imbroglio between the union and the Federal Government after all negotiations had failed.
Gbajabiamila had then assured the lecturers that government would look into the issue, adding that the lecturers would get whatever was due to them.
However, things took a new turn last Thursday when it was gathered that the government only paid half-month salaries to the university teachers.
The University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter of the union described the development as “insensitive and disheartening”.
The branch chairman, Dele Ashiru, in a statement said: “The leadership of the union at the national level has been duly informed about this unfortunate development and they are on top of the issue.”
At the Usman Danfodiyo University (UDU), Sokoto, the union has accused the Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, of attempts to create disharmony among its members.
It had therefore ordered its members to stay off duties right away.
Also there were reports of selective payment of lecturers’ salaries at the university, with some lecturers in the College of Public Health and Medicine allegedly receiving all their outstanding salaries.
Ngige had said those categories of workers didn’t participate in the union’s strike. ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, while confirming the development, urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the minister to order.
Osodeke said: “Half salaries were paid; no reasons were given whatsoever. We learnt that Ngige wrote the office of the Accountant General and Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and told them to only pay us for the period when we called off the strike.
“We heard there was a letter to that effect but we haven’t gotten it yet. We are going to summon a meeting.
“The minister just want to create more problems and Nigerians should take note. They are pushing us again to the point of taking drastic action. We have not been paid for eight months and we have resumed for about a month now.”
Those who impressed it upon us to suspend the strike should take note also,” he said.
To address the issue and come up with a plan, ASUU has called a nationwide Congress in its various branches today to take a decision on the matter.
When contacted by the press on whether his members had been paid, the National Secretary of the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), Dr. Henry Oripeloye, said no member of his union had been paid any salary.
