Buhari ready to intervene in ASUU’s half salary matter – Gbajabiamila assures

• FG promises to intervene in ASUU half salary saga
• Gbajabiamilla said FG is ready to sustain some components of IPPIS and UTAS

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) complained that the Federal Government (FG) only paid half of their October salary will be addressed by President Muhammadu Buhari.

Speaker of the House of Representatives Femi Gbajabiamila urged the union members to maintain their composure after revealing this yesterday. ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke criticized the half pay over the weekend, saying it was unfortunate that the Federal Government treated university professors like temporary employees.

The development comes after members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had tackled the federal government for not paying them full salaries. ASUU embarked on strike on February 14 to press home the demand for improved funding for universities, and a review of salaries for lecturers, among other issues.

He specifically mentioned the inclusion of N170 billion in the 2023 Budget to provide a level of increase in the lecturers’ welfare package and the N300 billion Revitalization Fund to improve the facilities and operations of the federal universities.

Gbajabiamilla added that in order to create a suitable platform for paying university professors, some components of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) are already being harmonized.

The federal government had threatened not to pay the lecturers for the strike period during the back-and-forth over the union’s demands, but a review of the decision was reportedly being considered.

On October 14, the union called off its strike and told its members to go back to work right away.

The statement he personally signed reads: “When the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) 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.

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“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 N170 billion to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers. The bill also includes an additional N300 billion in revitalization funds to improve the infrastructure and operations of federal universities.

“Furthermore, the House has convened the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and other stakeholders to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). This effort is being supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.

“Nonetheless, interventions have been made to explore the possibility of partial payments to the lecturers. We look forward to a favorable consideration by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, who has manifested his desire for 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.