Education

₦40 Billion Earned Allowances Released To ASUU – Ngige

Published

4 years ago

Jan 25, 2021.

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The Federal Government has released ₦40billion for the payment of earned academic allowances to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and earned allowances for the non-academic members of staff.

Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who made this known at the weekend, said that President Muhammadu Buhari has waived the ‘no work, no pay’ Trade Act to allow peace to reign.

According to him, the government may also release ₦30 billion revitalisation funds to varsities by the end of this month.

“We are keeping faith religiously with the implementation of the agreement. In fact, President Muhammadu Buhari has given ASUU members a waiver/ pardon on the no, work, no pay clause in the nation’s Trade Disputes Act.

Read also: How ASUU Strike Has Affected Ngige

“I had to write officially for the presidential waiver on payment of outstanding wages of varsity lecturers to strengthen our pact and more so we are in a COVID-19 pandemic era.

“So, for harmony and understanding, we decided on compassionate ground not to invoke Section 43 of the nation’s Trade Disputes Act,” he told The Nation in an interview.

Ngige revealed that the Federal Government has started paying the outstanding salaries of the lecturers in a “staggered system” because every 31st December of each year, all outstanding recurrent budget (including personnel salaries) is mopped up into the Treasury.

On the issue of the impending strike action by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), the minister said:

“I will invite the leaders of SSANU, NASU and technologists for dialogue to arrest their strike.

“I believe if we sit down with them for consultations, they will appreciate our position. We cannot afford to shut down our universities again.

“Their letter or notice of strike has not reached my table but we will engage them in dialogue on all their demands. Fortunately, I am one of the parents affected by strike action in universities. All my children are studying in different universities in the country.”

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