The Academic Staff Union of
Universities (ASUU), Calabar zone, has described as an aberration and fraudulent,
the N250,000 senior lecturers that should be promoted to professors are
required to pay an assessment fee.
The union insisted that there is
no clause in the act establishing the universities where a lecturer should pay
for his own assessment.
In a statement signed by all the
chairpersons comprising Calabar zone and read by the zonal coordinator, Dr
Aniekan Brown, at Melany Hotel and Suites, Uyo Akwa Ibom State capital, the
union said such a fee is not within the confines of the law regretting that
those who refused to pay the sum had their promotions stagnated.
According to Brown, “there is no
place that a lecturer should pay for his assessment. How can ill paid staff who
have invested a lot of money in research and publishing, when the time for
assessment for promotion comes, they will be asked to pay a whooping N250,000?
“ASUU views that as a case of
criminality, because it’s not within the confines of the law. Infact, it’s an
aberration, fraudulent and unconstitutional. Secondly, what do you mean I pay
such huge sum and I don’t get favorable assessment? Please note that some of
our colleagues who stand by the truth and refused to pay; their promotions are
stagnated, even if their promotions are announced it is notional, no financial
backings.”
Speaking on the insistence of the
Federal Government that universities, as well as other agencies, should migrate
to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), the union
said at no point had it supported the scheme and would never do describing it
as a cesspool of corruption.
Dr Brown said it would be a case
of historical irresponsibility for the union to accept what is not good for
members stressing that ASUU was inaugurated with the mandate of advancing the
course and welfare of members.
Buttressing his points, the Zonal
Coordinator said, “It will be difficult for them to say that IPPIS stands for
transparency. IPPIS is illiterate because it cannot read and understand the
peculiarities of the Nigerian universities system. That is why we have salary
fluctuations.
“Our union has always come
against this IPPIS, legally, it goes against University autonomy and it failed
to understand the peculiarities of Nigeria University system. IPPIS has no room
for payment of salary promotion arrears.”
The union also condemned the
proliferation of universities by state governors without taking care of the
existing ones saying, “State governments proposing to establish new
universities should be barred from accessing TETFund grants to support their
projects for at least ten years. Owners of the proposed universities whether
federal or State should provide verifiable growth plans for providing not less
than 75% of their pensionable academic staff complement in addition to
provision of requisite Infrastructural facilities.”
ASUU also condemned the failure
of the Federal Government to honor it’s part of the bargain which made the
union suspend the nine months strike action saying that there is a limit to
which their patience can reach.
It also made some demands which
included: payment of staff emoluments starting with 2022 budgets, domestication
of the universities act of 2012 in all universities, provision of functional
pension scheme in line with the 2014 pension act.
Others included: payment of
salaries, payment of allowances, third party deductions and other entitlements
owed staff with a consciousness of a regular payment subsequently as well as
constitution of visitation panels to all universities that have not been
visited in at least, last five years.
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