*Demand the immediate release of the withheld third-party deductions By Muh'd Shafi'u Saleh The Academic Staff Union of Universiti...
*Demand the immediate release of the withheld third-party deductions
By Muh'd Shafi'u Saleh
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at Modibbo Adama University (MAU), Yola, has lamented that university professors in Nigeria are the lowest paid in the world.
The leader of the MAU branch, El-Maude Gambo Jibreel, expressed this at a press briefing in Yola on Thursday. He stated, "Our members have been on the same salary for more than 15 years. The last time our salaries were reviewed was in 2009.
"Lecturers in Nigeria are the least paid in Africa, not to mention the global average. We are the worst paid in the world, with a professor earning less than $300 per month at the current rate of N1,489 per dollar."
"In 2023, the FGN budgeted N50 billion to pay part of the backlog of our members’ Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) and promised to integrate the EAA into our salaries. It is important to note that the money was insufficient to pay all of the backlog. Unfortunately, this has not materialized."
"The failure of the federal and state governments to integrate EAA into the salaries as of 2022, as contained in the 2020 Memorandum of Action (MoA) between ASUU and FGN, clearly shows the government's bad intentions towards our members and the educational sector in Nigeria," he said.
Meanwhile, the ASUU branch in Yola expressed concern that many people do not understand the reasons behind their strikes. "There is a need for the public to understand what ASUU's struggle is about and join hands with us to save the educational sector in Nigeria and place Nigeria on the path to development."
"The purpose behind the eight-month strike in 2022 was to make the FGN implement the Memorandum of Action of February 7, 2019, which our Union and the FGN agreed upon without any duress."
"As a Union, we are not demanding anything new from the government but the implementation of agreements made in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2022," he said.
ASUU also lamented that the federal government's budget for universities does not reach the universities' accounts. "The budgetary allocation to education has been disappointing. To worsen the situation, only a small fraction of the budgeted amount is actually released to universities."
"In the last budget, N170 billion was earmarked as a revitalization fund, but unfortunately, the money has not reached the universities. The level of decay in the infrastructure of public universities in Nigeria can only be imagined," he said.
Speaking about the agreement signed by ASUU with the government in 2009, El-Maude said, "For clarity, in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2022, the 2009 agreement was renegotiated with government representatives Dr. Wale Babalakin, Prof. Munzali Jubril, and the late Prof. Nimi Briggs. The Nimi Briggs Committee concluded the renegotiation, and the document is awaiting government approval. The government's silence on this matter has demoralized our members."
"Our members have been on the same salary for more than 15 years. Despite the lost time during the strike, our members have already covered the period and are preparing to commence the 2024/2025 session by September 2024. We call on the FGN to pay our members their withheld salaries."
Regarding the non-remittance of third-party deductions, he said, "Part of our members’ salaries is withheld by the government. Although our members received their withheld salaries for four months, the third-party deductions have not been released. This is unfair, illegal, and barbaric. We demand the immediate release of the withheld third-party deductions."
He recalled that the FGN challenged ASUU to propose an alternative to the ineffective, inefficient, and IMF/World Bank-imposed IPPIS. "The IMF/World Bank ideology aims to undermine our educational system and cripple the future of Nigerian youths. As a Union, we developed UTAS, which scored 94% in NITDA’s first assessment and 97% in the review, but the FGN is reluctant to implement it."
The union also called on individuals passionate about national development to join hands in restoring the country's glory. "Our union is engaged in a patriotic struggle to reposition the Nigerian university system. We call on all well-meaning and patriotic Nigerians, the media, labor movement, students’ organizations, and civil society to join forces with ASUU in ensuring we safeguard the future of our dear country."
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