Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University (ATBU) Bauchi branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has decried the deepening Socio-Economic Crisis in the country which it said calls for urgent measures to correct.
Addressing a press conference at the end of an emergency Congress held at its Secretariat at the Yelwa campus on Wednesday, ASUU declared through its Branch Chairperson, Comrade Ibrahim Inuwa, that it is not unaware of the terrible economic situation of the country occasioned by free fall in the value of Naira vis-à-vis the Dollar, the distortion in the petroleum sector, corruptly called “subsidy removal”.
According to ASUU, “This has ushered in a regime of high cost of transportation, unaffordable prices of commodities, job losses and ballooning joblessness depicting a general atmosphere of despair and despondency in country.”
It added that “The failure of government to provide effective measures that would cushion the effect of its anti-poor policies has further pushed Nigerians deeper into the pit of despair.”
According to ASUU, “The growing rate of insecurity occasioned by the activities of bandits, kidnappers and Boko haram insurgency has continued to make the life of ordinary Nigerian miserable and hopeless as they live in perpetual state of fear.”
It further stated that, “The ordinary Nigerian farmer can no longer go to farm due to insecurity, those who are relatively safe also cannot till their farms due to the high cost of fertilizer’ and other farm inputs.”
On the proliferation of Universities, it stated that, “You are aware that the proliferation of Universities was one of the issues that led to the strike actions of 2020 and 2022. Part of the MoA signed by ASUU and FGN stressed the need to review the NUC Act to make it more potent in arresting the reckless and excessive establishment of universities.”
“A joint committee of ASUU and government was set up which submitted a draft bill to the National Assembly on this matter. However, that bill has not seen the light of day. The fallout of this is the massive and reckless manner by which Federal and State Governments are establishing Universities without making adequate preparations for their funding while failing to adequately fund the existing ones. We call on the National Assembly to expedite actions on the aforementioned bill before it.”
ASUU ATBU also frowned at the issue of underfunding of Universities stressing that funding for revitalization has been central in the struggle of the Union and it remains a cardinal demand in all its agreements and memoranda with governments.
According to the Union, “The attitude of the political class towards education is better described as shabby and self-serving. Instead of paying listening ears to the suggestions and recommendations of experts and ASUU, for proper funding of education and the provision of infrastructure and facilities in existing universities, they have embarked on the wild-goose-chase of proliferation of universities.
“In fact, Universities have become Constituency projects for politicians. The available record has shown that the Federal Government budgetary allocation to Education is less than Seven per cent (6.39%) a figure far below the UNESCO recommendation of between 15 to 20% of national budget for any meaningful impact to be achieved in the education sector,” It lamented
On the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information. System (IPPIS), ASUU ATBU stated that the President Bola Tinubu-led administration has announced the exit of tertiary institutions from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS)- an obnoxious salary payment system imposed on Federal Universities by the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari-led government.
“However, to the dismay of members, despite the judgement of the Industrial Court declaring the imposition of IPPIS on Universities as illegal, and the directive of Mr. President to exit Federal Institutions from IPPIS, since January to date, our salaries are still paid using “New IPPIS”, it claimed.
According to the Union, “This is akin to the perpetuation of illegality and the disobedience to the directive of the President. We therefore call on the government to urgently ensure that the court ruling and the directive of Mr President are complied with.”
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On withheld salary, ASUU ATBU stated that,”You will recall that, ASUU members were denied their seven and half month’s salaries as a result of the arbitrary enforcement of the no-work-pay during our last strike action.”
It stated that, “This policy of government ran contrary to the international labour laws and conventions and it was a deliberate act of wickedness meted on ASUU members by the agents of the previous Buhari-led government.”
“However, the union wishes to acknowledge the courage of the Tinubu’s government for doing the right thing by releasing four of the seven months withheld salaries. The Union therefore calls on Mr. President to give directive for the release of the three and the half months that is still withheld,” It added.
On the issue of Arrears of Earned Academic Allowances, the Union stated that the Federal Government has lately been evasive on payment of the backlog of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), part of which was captured in the 2023 National Budget for Federal Universities.
The December 2020 Memorandum of Action (MOA) between FGN and ASUU reaffirmed the mainstreaming of EAA into lecturers’ salaries stating that, “It should be noted at this point that these allowances have been earned by our members who have done excess work. We, therefore, wonder why it must take another strike action for government to release lecturers entitlements.”
