Following months of strike action by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the Federal Government on Friday bowed to pressure, offering the union ₦65 billion for Earned Academic Allowance and Revitalisation of the nation’s public universities.
The Federal Government also agreed to exempt the varsity lecturers from the much-disputed Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information (IPPIS), until the union’s University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) was ready for usage.
Members of ASUU will be paid through the Government Integrated Financal Management Information System, which is the old payment system that was used to pay its members prior to the proposed deployment of IPPIS.
The agreements were reached at a meeting between the leadership of ASUU and the federal government on Friday.
Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment while speaking with journalists after the meeting said that the Accountant-General of the Federation (AGF) has offered to release N40 billion or alternatively, N35 billion to be shared by all registered Trade Unions in the universities after providing required evidence of having earned the allowance.
He said, “The FG reiterated that her offer of N40 billion or 35 billion whichever is accepted by ASUU was for all the universities unions: ASUU had proposed that N40 billion be paid immediately for all unions.”
According to the minister, all Vice-chancellors are requested to submit the details of the Earned Allowance to the National Universities Commission (NUC) on or before November 30.
Ngige while commenting on the issue of withheld salaries said the Labour Ministry and Federal Ministry of Education will review the issue of “no work, no pay” as stipulated in Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act Cap T8 laws of the federation of Nigeria, 2004 with a view to getting approval for the withheld salaries to be paid.