The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has convened its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the Niger Delta University (NDU), Wilberforce Island, in Bayelsa State.
The two-day session, which commenced on Saturday and is expected to conclude either on Saturday evening or early Monday morning, will address key issues including the rising cost of living, withheld salaries of members, delayed payment of January salaries, and the ongoing use of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) for salary disbursements.
Last year, President Bola Tinubu revoked the No-Work-No-Pay policy that was imposed on striking lecturers by his predecessor, Muhammadu Buhari. As a consequence of this policy, the Buhari administration withheld eight months’ salaries of university workers until the end of his tenure due to their participation in a prolonged eight-month strike.
The impacted unions include the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of Universities and Allied Institutions.
In October 2023, following extensive discussions with relevant stakeholders, Mr. Tinubu announced the government’s commitment to paying four out of the eight months’ withheld salaries. However, four months later, it has been reported that these withheld salaries remain unpaid.
Additionally, lecturers have highlighted that the salary for January was only disbursed on a Friday, nine days into February. Expressing frustration, a lecturer, who chose to remain anonymous, emphasized that the President’s directive has not been fulfilled even after four months, leading to accumulated arrears.
A lecturer, who does not want to be quoted, told this newspaper.“So I can guarantee you that with the high inflation, rising cost of living and the unmet demands, ASUU will take some fundamental decisions at the NEC meeting.”
In December 2023, Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, announced that the government had agreed to exclude Nigerian tertiary institutions – universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education – from the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
IPPIS is a centralized payment system utilized for paying all federal government employees, a system which ASUU has consistently opposed. ASUU listed exemption from IPPIS as one of the conditions for suspending an industrial action it initiated in 2022.
Despite assurances from Mamman and subsequent promises made in January, three months later, lecturers reported that the January salaries, disbursed on a Friday, were still processed through the IPPIS platform, which they criticized as inadequate.