The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ibadan zone, has said it lost no fewer than 60 of its members due to the failure of the Federal Government and state governments to release arrears of its earned academic allowances.

Coordinator, ASUU Ibadan zone, Professor Oyebamiji Oyegoke, who stated this while addressing a press conference at the University of Ibadan, on Friday, said the casualties were recorded between November 2023 and February 2024.

Oyegoke chided what he described as the silence of the federal and state governments in paying an estimated N92 billion in arrears, a situation he said subjected members to avoidable deaths due to lack of funds to purchase medications, and food.

Pointing to the 2022 Federal Government/ASUU Memorandum of Understanding, Oyegoke said it was worrisome that the promised mainstreaming of earned allowances into monthly salaries from 2022 has remained a mirage in federal and state universities.

He stressed that the agreement was that the government would fund earned allowances not that it would be paid through the Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) of individual universities.

Oyegoke said: “Gentlemen of the press, the December 2020 FGN/ASUU MoA reaffirmed the mainstreaming of EAA into our member’s monthly salaries while the next tranche of the allowances was to be paid in 2021.

“However, the scheduled payment was not only aborted, the mainstreaming of EAA as of 2022 has remained a mirage in federal and most state universities. In the Ibadan zone for example, UI branch of our zone, is being owed over N3b; In LAUTECH, EAA has not been paid since 2013 till date and in KWASU, since 2016 till date while in UNIOSUN, 2015-2019 EAA of our members was whimsically amputated by 50%.

“It is almost nineteen months of resumption from the 2022 strike action with no positive development from the government on our demands for payment of outstanding EAA in spite of its being captured in the 2023 Budget and or mainstreaming to our salaries with effect from 2022.

“ASUU condemns this draconian silence of federal and state governments about this issue that has led to avoidable deaths of many members of our union across the campuses.

“Due to non-payment of Earned Academic Allowances, 60 of our members died between November 2023 and February 2024.

“We hope our union will not be forced to make some unpleasant decisions to address these lingering issues.

“For the avoidance of doubt, nowhere in the FGN/ASUU Agreement of 2009 is it stated that Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) will be paid through Internally Generated Revenues (IGRs) of individual universities.

“On the contrary, the agreement explicitly provides that the government shall fund EAA. This explains why the FGN mandated the Implementation Monitoring Committee (IMC) of the 2009 Agreement to determine the cost implication of the allowances and to supervise the implementation of ALL the agreements entered into with all the university-based staff unions.

“The IMC came up with a total cost of N92bn, which was meant to pay the arrears of earned allowances for all the staff unions ASUU, SSANU, NASU and NAAT in all federal universities, for three and a half years,” it said.

The ASUU also rejected the Integrated Payroll Personnel Information System (IPPIS), calling on the government to revert to quarterly releases of university subventions to enable the institutions to design and implement their salary payment plans under the supervision of their governing councils.

It particularly chided the federal government for failing to attend to the issues that led to the union’s nationwide strike action from February to October 2022.

The union listed the issues as non-completion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement; Inadequate funding of Public Universities; Non-release of Arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA); the albatross of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS); Proliferation of Universities, Arbitrary dissolution of Governing Councils of the Public Universities and, dictatorship in some Nigerian Universities.

Oyegoke further said: “Both Federal and State Universities are similarly beset with unpaid accumulated promotion arrears. In our zone, for example, promotion arrears are owed as follows: LAUTECH since 2011 till date, UI 2011 till date and UNILORIN 2018 till date.

“It is painful to note that having to carry our research most often at personal costs and earning promotions belatedly, the ensuing arrears which should follow are never received. In some instances, it is nominal promotion without financial backing.”

The Ibadan zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities comprises the University of Ibadan, Ibadan; University of Ilorin, Ilorin; Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomoso; Osun State University, Osogbo; Kwara State University, Malete; and Emmanuel Alayande University of Education, Oyo. (Nigerian Tribune)

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