Former Senate Leader, Senator Ali Ndume, has urged the Federal Government to reduce by 50 percent the salaries of Nigerian lawmakers to pay members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.
The Senator representing Borno South senatorial district of Borno State, made this call while addressing to the case of the half salary that was reportedly paid by the federal government to the lecturers in an interaction with journalists in Maiduguri on Thursday.
He also advised the federal government to initiate a high-powered standing committee of respected educationists and patriotic Nigerians to meet the leadership of ASUU in order to find a lasting solution to the issue.
“Even if it means that the National Assembly will reduce sitting allowances or be paid on casual allowances basis whenever they sit at the Lower and Upper chambers, by cutting the recurrent expenditure in the budget of the federal lawmakers to settle the ASUU arrears, let it be. It will be in the overall national interest of Nigerians.
“If you can spend N8.3 trillion on public servants, why don’t you spend N1trillion in public universities?” The Borno South lawmaker said.
“We only assemble twice or so per week and get paid as such. Civil servants who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic and were paid their full salaries and allowances monthly.
“So why will the federal government cut university lecturers’ salaries because they went on legitimate strike? Constitutionally, they are fighting for their rights and privileges” he said.
