By Abubakar Baba Ahmad
The Academic Staff Union of Universities ASUU has expressed deep concern over the failure of the federal government to inaugurate an Implementation Monitoring Committee IMC to facilitate the implementation of the 2025 ASUU/FG agreement.
The National President ASUU Comrade Professor Christopher Piwuna expressed the concern at a Press Conference convened by the Bauchi Zone of the Union held at the Sa’adu Zungur University SAZU in Bauchi.
The Bauchi Zone of the Union comprises Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University ATBU Bauchi, Federal University of Kashere – Gombe state, Gombe State University GSU, Plateau State University, Bokkos, University of Jos UNIJOS, Federal University of Education Pankshin and Sa’adu Zungur University, SAZU.
Professor Piwuna represented by the Bauchi Zonal Coordinator Professor Namu Aku said there has been distorted or zero implementation of the agreement by both federal and state governments with each university making selective payment of the various components of the agreement.
“The union has observed with grave concern that universities have been selective in the payment of the various aspects of the salary component of the agreement, which includes fhe Consolidated Academic Tool Allowance (CATA), Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), the Professorial Allowance (PA) and the responsibility allowance”, the ASUU President itemises.
While acknowledging that some universities have been able to implement two or three components of those allowances for one to three months, only two State universities of Bauchi and Ekiti have set the pace in the implementation of the agreement.
“Some state governments even argue that the Agreement is between the Federal Government and ASUU, whereas both the federal and state governments participated in the process that culminated in the signing of the tripartite Agreement”, Piwuna clarifies.
He frowned at the unilateral decision of the federal government to establish the National Research and Innovation Development Fund with funding of the programme in United States dollars and not the country’s local currency, amounting to 500 million dollars.
Comrade Piwuna also reminded the government about the outstanding entitlements of members to include 25/35 percent wage award arrears, promotion arrears, remittance of third-party deductions, salary shortfalls arising from the use of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System IPPIS platform and the three and a half months withheld salary in the aftermath of the 2022 strike action.
The ASUU President drew the attention of the government on the negative impact of some pronouncements such as the scrapping of the Mother-tongue policy, plan to establish a campus of the Coventry University under transnational education framework, scrapping of some social sciences and humanity courses described as irrelevant in public universities, irregular appointments like Diaspora Professor which are unknown to the university system.
“The Union opposes the reversal of the Mother-Tongue Policy and insists that using local languages for instruction is a standard practice in technologically advanced nations like China, Russia, Japan and South Korea. Children before the age of eight have been shown to master six, or more, languages without hampering their cognitive development”, he argues.
Piwuna used the medium to call on relevant stakeholders, and well meaning Nigerians to prevail on the federal and state governments to fully implement the 2025 agreement to guarantee industrial harmony.
