Nigeria House of Representatives has intervened in the dispute between the Federal Government and the National Executive Council (NEC) of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, who spoke on behalf of the house, urged members of ASUU to remain calm while making decisions over the half salaries paid by the government.
ASUU National Executive Council (NEC) held an emergency meeting on Monday after reports emerged that the Federal Government paid half salaries to the university lecturers.
Citizens feared that this might lead to another educational strike.
In a statement, personally signed by Gbajabiamila in Abuja in Monday, he explained why Federal Government may not fully pay university lecturers for the eighth month that the Academic Staff Union of Universities was on strike.
Gbajabiamila assured members of ASUU that President Mohammadu Buhari is determined to provide solutions to the latest concerns raised by the union.
In his statement titled, ‘Statement by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila on the Resolution of Outstanding Issues between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government of Nigeria,’ he disclosed that the House is currently working on the 2023 Appropriations Bill which includes ₦170 billion to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers.
This bill also includes ₦300 billion revitalisation fund to improve the infrastructure and operations of the federal universities.
The statement
When the Academic Staff Union of Universities called off their industrial action three weeks ago, it meant that academic activities could resume in our nation’s public universities, and students could return to their academic pursuits after the prolonged interruption. This decision was rightly heralded nationwide as the correct decision.
Since then, the Executive and the House of Representatives have worked to address the issues that led to the strike. We are currently working on the 2023 Appropriations Bill, which includes the sum of N170,000,000,000 to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers. The bill also includes additional N300,000,000,000 in revitalisation funds to improve the infrastructure and operations of federal universities.
Furthermore, the House of Representatives has convened the Accountant General of the Federation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other stakeholders to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System. This effort is being supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.
The Executive position is that it is not obligated to pay salaries to the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System. This effort is being supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.
The Executive position that it is not obligated to pay salaries to lecturers for the time spent on strike is premised on the law and the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and discouraging disruptive industrial actions. Nonetheless, interventions have been made to explore the possibility of partial payments to the lecturers. We look forward to a favourable consideration by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, who has manifested his desire to what is prudent and necessary to resolve all outstanding issues.
Implementing meaningful change takes time, especially when appropriations and modifications to systems such as IPPIS are required. Therefore, I urge all parties to be patient and grant each other the presumption of goodwill to the extent necessary to achieve our shared objectives. This is not a time for political brinkmanship. There is no more pressing objective than to preclude the possibility of further disruptions to the academic calendar of the universities. We must prevent this possibility by all means, as these disruptions risk the promise and potential of our nation’s youth.