ASUU : FG Agrees To Pay Salary Arrears, Raises Earned Allowance, Others

  • Ogunyemi, ASUU President

From Jane Okafor, Abuja

The Federal Government(FG) on Friday agreed to the demand of the Academic Staff Union of Universities(ASUU) that members should be exempted from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System(IPPIS).

The IPPIS was one of the causative factors for the current ASUU - FG imbroglio and the attendant  8 - month old strike that kept university students at home instead of school.

However, with the latest development, there is hope that the industrial action may be called off soon.

The Daily Crucible recalls that the Catholic Bishop of Abeokuta Diocese, Most Rev. Peter Odetoyinbo, had on Thursday expressed the confidence that the lingering issues between ASUU and Nigerian Government would be resolved soon so that students can return to school. 

Odetoyinbo while expressing the hope of resolution of the matter, had said in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, that dialogue and meaningful consultations with relevant stakeholders were all that would be required to address the issues, stem the tide of strike and other unrests in the country. 

The diocesan Bishop, thereafter, enjoined  the government to commit itself to reforms that would make life easier rather than harsh for Nigerians to live and survive in their fatherland. 

Predictably, the Federal government, today,  conceded grounds on a number of issues it had with ASUU, including its stance that all the academic staff of the federal universities must be paid through the IPPIS platform.

Reading the communique at the end of a seven-hour negotiation with ASUU members in Abuja some minutes ago, the Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, said the government has agreed to the lecturers' demand to pay members’ salary arrears from February to June using the old salary payment platform - Government Integrated Financial and Management Information System(GIFMIS).

The government also offered to increase the Earned Allowances to university staff from N30bn to N35bn and the revitalization fund from N20bn to N25bn.