The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has again
criticised the federal government over the non-implementation of its demands.
ASUU has been at loggerheads with the government over its
decision to pay members half of their salaries after the union’s eight-month
strike ended.
The federal government had insisted that the union members
would not be paid for the period they were on strike, citing its ‘no work, no
pay’ policy.
But members of the union had condemned the move and threatened to adopt a ‘no pay, no work’ policy if the withheld salaries are not paid.
The national executive council (NEC) of the union held a
two-day meeting at the University of Calabar (UNICAL) in Cross River state to
review the development and other issues affecting members.
In a statement issued after the meeting on Monday, Emmanuel
Osodeke, ASUU national president, faulted the federal government’s policies on
education including the proposed introduction of education loans.
The union said such policies are indication that the
government is not ready to fund public varsities.
“NEC observed with
concern the systematic disengagement of government from funding of Public
Universities through the proposed introduction of education loan which has
proven to be a monumental failure in our nation and some other countries where
it was introduced,” the statement reads.
“We find it troubling that the proponents of the policy are
so eager to foist it down the throat of Nigerians when they have done more to
push the working people of this country into poverty through sheer incompetence
in handling the economic fortunes of our nation.
“ASUU calls on Nigerians of goodwill to, in the interest of our
students and the nation, prevail on the Nigerian government to urgently address
all outstanding issues contained in the December 2020 FGN-ASUU Memorandum of
Action.
“NEC rejects with vehemence, the current attempts to impose
master-slave treatment as a mechanism for relating with Nigerian scholars under
whatever guise by the ruling class. ASUU members are citizens, not slaves.
“Finally, NEC
appreciates the resilience of our members and their families. Their
understanding and perseverance, in the face of hardship and provocation
occasioned by the government’s intransigence and insensitivity shall be
rewarded by posterity.”
On half salaries paid to members, ASUU said: “As reflected
in the pro-rated salaries paid to our members for the month of October 2022, as
well as the continued withholding of our member’s salaries for the preceding
eight months, even when the backlog of the work is being covered by our members
in various universities.”
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