The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ibadan Zone has called on the president Bola Tinubu-led administration to immediately set in motion for the process of signing and implementing the Late Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated agreement and Inadequate Funding of Public Universities
The call was made at a press conference held by Ibadan Zone of the Academic Staff Union of Universities and addressed by Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Oyebamiji Oyegoke, at the University of Ibadan, Ibadan.
According to him, from the review, it was very obvious that there had not been any serious efforts to redress the situations that led to the last strike action, especially the ones that led to ASUU nationwide strike action of February-October 2022.
“For avoidance of doubt and to nudge your memories, the issues at stake included: non-completion of 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.
“ASUU Ibadan Zone hereby enjoins the Federal Government to adhere strictly to TETFund establishment Acts and ensure proper funding of public universities
Non-Release of Arrears of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).
According to him, in 2009, the Federal Government and ASUU signed a negotiated agreement. This FGN/ASUU Agreement 2009, contained a road-map for addressing the crisis in public Universities in Nigeria. Thus, it provided a template for Funding public universities for their revitalization.
Professor Oyegoke said the issue also contained the conditions of service for academics in Nigerian public universities, such as increase in the salaries of academics and Earned Academic Allowances as well as the mechanism for the renegotiation of the Agreement itself, which stipulated that the Agreement was to be reviewed after three years, the first of which was supposed to be in 2012. This periodic renegotiation has not been accomplished up till date.
“It is no longer a secret that our negotiated salary has not changed since 2009. The government, instead of committing itself to negotiated welfare packages (take home, revitalization of our institutions, proper funding, proliferation of universities) has irreverently maintained lines of frustration, blackmail and the use of hunger as a weapon to weaken our struggles.
“However, since 2017, various committees had been put in place by the Government to renegotiate the agreement with ASUU. For records, the Wale Babalakin-led Joint Renegotiation Committee was set up, followed by Emeritus Professor Munzali Jubril-led Committee, and later followed by Late Emeritus Prof. Nimi Briggs-led Committee, which yielded a draft Agreement between the Committee and ASUU in 2021.
“Unfortunately, the Buhari administration refused to sign the Agreement reached by a Committee set up by it. Instead, it resorted to 25% and 35%, wage award, which again was never implemented till the end of Buharis tenure on 29 May, 2023. What this means is that the last time the Nigerian academics had a pay review was in 2009, that is fifteen (15) years ago. This has led to the pauperization of academics in Nigeria compared to their counterparts elsewhere across the world.
Professor Oyegoke said In the FGN/ASUU Agreement of 2009, the consideration was to have an African average in terms of salaries. By then, the exchange rate was N150 to $1. Salaries of the professorial cadre were pegged at between N450,000 and N500,000 (which was equal to about $3,000 per month).
“As had been noted, the agreement was to be reviewed after three years, which was supposed to be in 2012, which never happened up till date. The current exchange rate is N1,500 to $1. By implication, a professor in Nigerian public university earns $300 monthly as against $3,000 in 2009.
“The value of this paltry amount has also been eroded by the vagaries of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), coupled with the effects of the removal of fuel subsidy, floating of Naira, the increase in the tax regime, increase in electricity tariff, among other indices of hardship in present-day Nigeria.
“Instead of signing and implementing the FGN/ASUU Agreement emanating from the Late Nimi Briggs Committee, the Tinubu-led administration resorted to re-proclamation and re-enactment of the 25% and 35% wage award of Buharis administration, which in actual sense runs counter to the time-honoured principle of collective bargaining, globally in practice.
“We, therefore, call on the Tinubu-led administration to immediately set in motion the process of signing and implementing the Late Nimi Briggs-led renegotiated agreement.
Inadequate Funding of Public Universities
According to him, for several years, the Union has called out the government of Nigeria for non-performance, lackadaisical attitude, and an insensitive posture on matters pertaining to adequate funding of education.
The direct evidence of this non-performance is the inability of the Nigerian government to meet the benchmark of 26% educational budget for underdeveloped countries like Nigeria, specified by UNESCO which has been advocated by our Union.
He said the last ten years average budgetary allocation by successive Nigerian Governments to education has hovered between 5 and 8%.
Instead of improving, the Federal Government recently further decided to reduce the resources available for educational sector by diverting the funds to programmes with no direct benefits to Nigerian public universities.
“ASUU Ibadan Zone hereby enjoins the Federal Government to adhere strictly to TETFund establishment Acts and ensure proper funding of public universities
Non-Release of Arrears of Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).
“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 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.
He noted that the December 2020 FGN/ASUU MoA reaffirmed the mainstreaming of EAA into members 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 from 2022 has remained a mirage in federal and most state universities. In 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 been 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. We hope our union will not be forced to take some unpleasant decisions to address these lingering issues.
“The Albatross of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) by all standards is a violation of the university autonomy as well as the Acts establishing the Universities.
“Added to this illegality is its notoriety as a fraudulent platform that is inflicting unprecedented hardship on Nigerian academics and corruptly distorting university operations with respect to the payroll management. It is on these grounds that ASUU is consistently rejecting IPPIS. We are, however, worried that the grip of IPPIS on the universities is far from being eased more than four months after the government directed the exit of federal universities and other tertiary institutions from the discredited payment platform.
” As at today, the salaries of our members are still whimsically withheld just as third-party deductions (cooperative contributions, pension deductions and union check-off dues) are not released. The platform, with all its encumbrances, is still being used to pay our members under the disguise of New IPPIS contrary to the Federal Executive Councils (FECs) directive.
Professor Oyegoke admonished government to revert to quarterly releases of university subventions to enable the institutions design and implement their salary payment plans under the supervision of their Governing Councils.
“Arbitrary Dissolution of Governing Council in Public Universities
While ASUU is not holding brief for any individual or group of individuals, our opposition is to the illegal dissolution of Governing Councils in federal government tertiary institutions that have not completed their tenures and whom no forms of malfeasance was reported.
“We shall revisit all evils committed during the absence of these Councils and by extension, challenge identified individuals with assignments to weaken our collective resolves or further perpetuate evils.
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 researches 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.
On issue of dictatorship in Some Nigerian Public Universities, he said ASUU frowns at the interminable calamities against our members at the Kogi State University (KSU), Anyingba; Ebonyi State University (EBSU), Abakaliki; Lagos State University (LASU), Ojoo; Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma; Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University (COOU), Igbariam; and others where our members have been victimized and unjustly sacked.
” ASUU is particularly disturbed at the apparent travesty of justice against our members at the Kogi State University, Anyigba, after seven years of waiting. In Osun State University, Osogbo, one to ten month salaries of our members who participated in the 2018 and 2020 national struggles are still being illegally withheld till date. Without mincing words, the undue elongation of the court proceedings has created untold hardship on our members who are now victims of state actors.
“We call for a total reversal of all these aforementioned abominable acts against our members and demand that all those sacked be reinstated and adequately compensated.
He said, “we have decided to weather the storm until the needful is done. ASUU is proud to be the last union standing against tyranny and impunity of power in Nigeria as we are beyond intimidation.”
