FG begins payment of withheld ASUU salaries

The federal government has begun the payment of withheld salaries of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

Speaking with TheCable on Monday, Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU president, said the union has received reports of its members receiving “one or two credit alerts”.

He, however, added that ASUU is still working to confirm specific details and report the development.

A lecturer at the Federal University, Oye-Ekiti, told TheCable that some of his colleagues just received two months salaries, adding that most of those who have received payments use Access Bank.

In 2022, ASUU embarked on its 16th strike in 23 years. The strike lasted for eight months.

In September 2022, the National Industrial Court (NIC) stopped the union from continuing with the strike, pending the determination of a suit.

The federal government insisted that the lecturers would not be paid for the period they were on strike in accordance with the “no work, no pay” policy.

On May 30, the industrial court upheld the government’s stance on the matter.

But in October 2023, President Bola Tinubu partially waived the “no work, no pay” order, amounting to the release of four months of the eight-month pay of the lecturers withheld by the government.

Ajuri Ngelale, the presidential spokesperson, in a statement conveying Tinubu’s decision, said the waiver was part of an ongoing effort to mitigate the difficulties being felt during the implementation of key economic reforms in the country.

He said the education and labour ministries have been mandated to first secure a document of understanding (DoU), establishing that the waiver will be the last one to be granted to ASUU, and other education sector unions.