The Academic Staff Union of Universities, Benue State University chapter, has described the withholding of its members’ salary as a plan to make Christmas a bleak one for its members.

ASUU in Benue State University stated this in a statement issued and signed by the chairman and secretary of the union, Kwaghfam Tarnongo and Terrumun Gajir respectively. A copy was made available to newsmen in Makurdi on Thursday.

It will be recalled that the management of the University had withheld the November salary of the academic staff union for not submitting the results of the 2020/2021 academic session.

The union, in the statement, noted that the release of results was a process and not an event. It stated that the departmental board is already sitting to consider the submitted result.

According to the statement, “The release of results is a process and not an event. The process begins with the submission of scores as graded by individual lecturers to their respective Departments.

“The Departmental Boards now sit to consider the submitted results, and approved results are forwarded to the Faculties. Faculty Boards then meet to consider these results and, on approval, the results are forwarded to the University Senate, which is the highest decision-making organ of the University on academic matters.

“The results are finally released when the Senate meets, considers, and approves. It must be pointed out at this point that, once individual lecturers submit scores in the courses taught by them to their respective departments, their work is done with regards to the release of results.

“The remaining process of consideration and approval for such results by Departmental Boards, Faculty Boards, and the University Senate are within the purview of the system as managed by the University Administration and NOT that of lecturers anymore.” It said.

The union described the suspension of their salary by the management as ‘saddening,’ saying, ‘the University Administration has chosen to perpetrate this ILLEGALITY in this yuletide season when, for the first time in many years, public servants have been paid in good time before Christmas.’ (Nigerian Tribune)

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