Kemi Olaitan in Ibadan
The Educational Employees Union of Universities (ASUU) yesterday warned that the deliberate pauperisation of the intelligentsia by the federal and state governments will proceed to upscale the mind drain syndrome within the college system with newly appointed lecturers resigning for greener pastures.
ASUU additionally known as on the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to cease being insensitive slightly deal with the central calls for of public college lecturers for higher welfare and improved situations of service, stating that governments should cease performing as slave homeowners.
Prof. Oyebamiji Oyegoke, the Ibadan Zonal Coordinator of the union comprising the College of Ibadan, Ibadan; College of Ilorin, Ilorin; Ladoke Akintola College of Know-how, Ogbomoso; Kwara State College, Malete and Osun State College, Osogbo, whereas addressing journalists in Ibadan, yesterday stated regardless of the great intentions of ASUU members to make Nigerian universities globally aggressive, authorities in any respect ranges have continued to unleash hardship on the lecturers as it’s doing to different sectors of the Nigerian state.
He maintained that performing as a democratic authorities whereas pursuing IMF and World Financial institution anti-people polices abound and stares Nigerians within the face on a regular basis, stating that the burning points which led to the strike of February to October 2022 are being met with half-hearted, insincere and incoherent consideration from the federal authorities and its brokers.
Oyegoke disclosed that the federal authorities has not mainstreamed billions of Earned Educational Allowances owed its members whereas it has additionally not signed not to mention commenced the implementation of the Nimi-Briggs Renegotiated 2009 draft agreements.
Whereas warning that there’s a restrict to which individuals needs to be pushed to the wall with out resistance, he famous that ASUU as a union of intellectuals remained undaunted in its patriotic mission of rescuing Nigerian public universities from retrogression.
He stated: “Nonetheless unbowed by obnoxious no-work-no pay coverage of Nigerian authorities, withheld seven and half months’ wage and devaluation of Nigerian forex and the opposed financial situations introduced by subsidy elimination from petroleum, our members have gone forward to cowl the misplaced grounds (of educating and group service) occasioned by the strike of February-October 2022.
“In federal and state universities, examples abound of unpaid salaries to our members; an instance is Osun State College that has not paid our members who participated within the 2020 strike, an motion whose proceeds the college benefited and continues to be benefitting from.
“Regardless of our commitments and dedication the pay-back for our steadfastness has been the current, amputated one, two, or three months salaries simply introduced this week as an alternative of the owed seven and half months’ wage to our members. All these come after collection of unfulfilled guarantees had been made at very excessive stage of governance, together with that of Femi Gbajabiamila, the Chief of Employees to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“It’s troublesome to not agree with observations in some quarters that authorities is deliberately utilizing starvation and deprivation as different technique of warfare in opposition to Nigerian lecturers.
“In each state and federal universities, backlog of Earned Educational Allowances (EAA) are been owed members of ASUU. The mainstreaming of EAA into salaries for lecturers as affirmed within the Memorandum of Motion (MoA) of 2020 between ASUU and federal authorities and the anticipated tranche of allowances of 2021 have remained pipedreams.
“As if poor recruitments of latest arms into universities are usually not sufficient of issues to frame with, the exertions and further calls for of educating and coaching of elevated populations of scholars yearly have culminated into lecturers in federal and state universities doing extra works past their limits; the implications on the well being standing of lecturers are actually mirrored in critical attrition charges of deaths throughout our campuses.
“Sadly, the negotiated funds of EAA that ought to have compensated for additional exertions of our members are actually being owed. What the value of excellent EAA of a few years will translate to within the present inflation charges in Nigeria stays to be seen.
“ASUU has proven severally its condemnation and rejection of the Built-in Personnel and Payroll Data System (IPPIS) as a cost platform for paying salaries and emoluments in Nigerian Federal Universities and has produced and demonstrated the reliability of College Transparency and Accountability Answer (UTAS) as a substitute cost platform.
“It’s disconcerting to notice that regardless of the elimination of universities and different tertiary establishments by the directive of Federal Govt Council assembly of December 13, 2023, the directive is but to be obeyed. What we’ve rather than compliance with the directive is transmutation into ‘new IPPIS’.
“Our union strongly stands in opposition to any platform that won’t solely mutilate our month-to-month salaries, create a backlog of unpaid salaries to our members, and endanger the lives of ASUU by placing them on unnecessary journeys to Abuja earlier than their salaries may very well be paid.”
