The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called
on the Federal Government to honour the existing Memorandum of Understanding
(MoU) and Memorandum of Action (MoA) it entered with the union.
Dr Stephen Ufoaroh, Chairman of ASUU, Nnamdi Azikiwe
University (NAU) Awka branch, who gave the advice at a post-congress news
conference on Tuesday, said that the call was to avert an industrial crisis.
Ufoaroh said the peace in Nigeria’s universities was being
threatened by the refusal of the FG to honour the agreement between it and
ASUU, which was entered into on Dec. 23, 2020, noting that the timeline had
been breached by over 12 months.
He said failure to honour the terms of the agreement coupled
with the introduction of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information
System (IPPIS) had resulted in mutilated salaries, non-payment of promotion
arrears and Earned Academic Allowance.
“As at today, Feb.1, academic staff in Federal Universities
are owed between one month to more than two years arrears of salaries, the
situation is more pathetic in some state-owned Universities, especially in the
South East.
“In the Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University of Anambra
State, there is no pension scheme, non-payment of several years of earned
academic allowances, among others.
“We once again alert Nigerians, that unless the Federal
Government strives to sincerely resolve these issues, there will be no rest for
us all.
“There will be no more MOUs or MOAs, until everything is
fully implemented,” he said.
The ASUU chairman said that the unfriendly working
environment in the universities and the poor remuneration of the teaching staff
had encouraged continued brain drain in the sector.
Ufoaroh said some State governments no longer fund their own
university, which had become Tertiary Education Trust and Needs Assessment fund
dependent.
According to him, “the take-home pay of a Professor at the
current rate of exchange was less than $1000 from the $3000 it was in 2009,
this is a serious cause for concern in relation to its adverse effect on the
output and productivity of such Professors.
“Little wonder that many Professors are shopping around for
positions and appointments as against their vocations, the exodus of Professors
from academics is a death knell on the university system in Nigeria.
“In State Universities, most visitors (State Governors) have
scandalously abandoned their responsibilities to the State-owned universities.”
“These State Universities are now in existence and being
sustained by funds from TETFund and NEEDS Assessment Funds, both being products
of ASUU struggles. Even payment of personnel costs is abandoned,” he said.
Meanwhile, President Muhammadu Buhari had pledged the
Federal Government’s readiness to honour existing agreements with ASUU.
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