Reports has revealed that the salaries of university lecturers, workers, and employees of federal polytechnics and colleges of education remain unreleased by the Federal Government.
This is coming despite President Bola Tinubu granting a waiver for the withheld salaries.
Tinubu’s October approval partially waived the no-work-no-pay order for striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other academic unions, directing the release of salaries held for four months.
The President’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, stated that the waiver was granted based on the principle of the presidential prerogative of mercy, acknowledging the adherence to agreed terms during discussions between ASUU and the Nigerian Federal Government.
Ngelale stated that the waiver “will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union”.
The ASUU strike, starting on February 14, 2022, and concluding on October 17, 2022, marked the lengthiest in the union’s history.
This strike was initiated due to the union’s push for enhanced university funding, higher salaries for lecturers, and improved working conditions.
In an interview with The PUNCH, the chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Prof Gbolahan Bolarin, conveyed that the lecturers had not received their payments.
“We have not received anything like that,” he said.
The National President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, Muhammed Ibrahim, said, “If you are referring to the four-month salary backlog. It has not been paid yet.”
