1>>Lecturers in many of the nation’s
tertiary institutions are
facing hard times due to non-payment of
their salaries and
other entitlements, The PUNCH
investigations have revealed.
The findings showed that some of tertiary
institutions,
comprising universities, polytechnics and
colleges of
education, owed their lecturers and other
workers between
two and 13 months’ salaries.
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The development, our correspondents
gathered, had
resulted in industrial actions and exposure
of their family
members to hard times. It has also
disrupted academics in
many of the institutions.
For instance, at the Tai Solarin College of
Education, Omu
Ijebu, Ogun State, one of our
correspondents gathered that
its authorities owed the lecturers 13
months’ salaries as of
the end of June.
Following this, a majority of the lecturers
have stayed away
from the school in order to seek other ways
of survival.
In fact, three weeks ago in Abeokuta, Ogun
State capital,
their students protested against the plight
of their lecturers.
The Student Union President, Ibrahim
Dario, who led the
protest, said the issue of unpaid salaries
had forced their
lecturers out of school.
“It is skeletal lecture regime that we now
operate at TASCE,
since our lecturers are being owed 13
months’ salaries. They
only come when they could raise money for
transportation.
“We have paid our tuition and deserve to
be taught, but we
are not getting value for our money. We
are appealing to the
state government to pay our lecturers, so
that full lectures
can resume.”
The Chairman, Colleges of Education
Academic Staff Union,
TASCE chapter, Dr. Dan Oludipe, said the
lecturers in the
institution were experiencing hard times,
based on non-
payment of their 13-months’ salaries.
Oludipe, who said that they received only
January, February,
March and August salaries last year, noted
they had yet to
get salaries in 2016.
He added, “We are not on strike but we
have withdrawn our
services in terms of lecturing, attending to
meetings and
examinations, because we do not have the
wherewithal to
transport ourselves to and from school. We
are appealing to
the state government to pay us our
money.”
In Ondo State, workers, including lecturers
at the Adekunle
Ajasin University, Akungba-Akoko,
embarked on strike on
Monday to kick against the non-payment
of the salaries.
Their counterparts at the State University
of Science and
Technology, Okitipupa, had a few days ago
commenced their
own industrial action.
According to the Chairman of the AAUA’s
chapter of the
Academic Staff Union of Universities, Dr.
Sola Fayose, the
authorities owe lecturers three months’
salaries.
He explained, “The school owes our
salaries in two phases.
We received half salary from December to
March and we
have not been paid any salary from April
to date, so we have
to withdraw our services, starting from
today (Monday) until
we receive our salaries.”
Similarly, the Chairman of the OSUSTECH’s
chapter of the
Senior Staff Association of Nigerian
Universities, Mr. Dayo
Temowo, said the strike in the institution
would continue
until they received their salaries.
He said, “The state government owes us
five months’ salaries
from February to June. That is why we
commenced the
strike. Our agitation for the payment of the
arrears is very
strong. As I speak to you, we are on
strike.”
According to the University of Ibadan,
Academic Staff Union
of Universities Chairman, Omole Ayodeji,
the ivory tower
has been having a shortfall of N301m in
its allocation from
the Federal Government since last
December. The
development, he said, had resulted in the
workers being
paid less than 100 per cent of their
salaries.
Ayodeji noted that as of June, the school
owed both the
academic and non-academic staff about
N900m.
He said, “Workers in the institution have
been receiving 91
per cent of their salaries. This is because
the school was
having a shortfall of N310m from what
comes to it from
federal allocation. We showed
understanding when the
budget was not passed. But after it was
passed, the
authorities said during a meeting with
workers
representatives that the arrears of salaries
could not be paid
because the FG had not paid full
allocation to the school.
The situation has remained the same.”
A few weeks ago, its Vice-Chancellor, Prof.
Idowu Olayinka,
said that with 6,000 workers in its payroll,
it needed about
N878m to pay monthly salaries.
One of our correspondents gathered that as
of January, the
ivory tower received only N782m.
The Oyo State Government also owes
members of staff of
The Polytechnic, Ibadan. A source said the
government owed
workers in the school five months’ salaries.
Meanwhile, at the federal universities,
including the
University of Lagos, University of Nigeria
and the University
of Calabar, among others, their authorities
have been
regular with the payment of the workers’
salaries.
At the Cross River University of Technology
also, its ASUU
Chairman, Dr. Emma Ettah, told one of our
correspondents
that its management did not owe them.
He, however,
lamented the inability of the state
government to pay their
check-off dues running into millions of
naira.
Ettah added, “We have been paid our
salaries up to date.
The problem we have with the government
is the check-off
due that has not been paid.”
For the Provost, Akwa Ibom State College
of Education,
Afaha Nsit, Dr. Patrick Uko, the state
government does not
owe workers of the school.
The Public Relations Officer of the Akwa
Ibom State
Polytechnic, Mrs. Gloria Udoudom, also
confirmed that
workers of the polytechnic were not being
owed salaries.
According to a senior employee of the
Akwa Ibom State
University, who craved anonymity, the
government does not
owe them salaries.
All attempts to talk with the state Nigeria
Labour Congress
Chairman, Mr. Etim Ukpong, failed, as he
did not answer our
telephone inquiry. He also did not respond
to text message
sent to him as of 7pm on Monday.
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