“Fix Promotion Arrears, Pay Living Wage Or Face Strike” – ASUU Tells FG

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Lagos Zone, has called on the Federal Government to prioritize paying university lecturers a living wage instead of a basic minimum wage.

The Lagos Zonal Coordinator of the union, Adeola Nassir, made the appeal at a press briefing held at the union’s office inside the University of Lagos.

This demand comes shortly after ASUU members in Lagos staged a peaceful protest on campus, highlighting their unpaid salaries and poor working conditions.

Nassir said the current minimum wage does not reflect the harsh economic realities lecturers face.

He explained that ASUU has repeatedly engaged the government on unresolved issues such as unpaid promotion arrears spanning four years, wage award arrears, and palliatives, but no payments have been made so far.

[irp]

He warned that the union would not hesitate to declare a nationwide strike if the situation persists, adding that Nigerians should blame the government, not ASUU, for any disruption that follows.

The union also accused the government of interfering in university autonomy by paying staff directly instead of releasing funds to the institutions to manage on their own.

Speaking on the newly launched Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund, Nassir said the initiative, which was originally designed to provide up to ₦10 million in financial support for academics, has been turned into a loan scheme that is largely inaccessible to lecturers.

He stressed that ASUU will continue to resist any policies that undermine lecturers’ sacrifices or force them into poverty, insisting that the union remains committed to defending Nigeria’s university system for the benefit of the country.

KanyiDaily recalls that Chris Piwuna, a Professor of Medicine and Consultant Psychiatrist at the University of Jos Teaching Hospital, was recently elected the new ASUU President.

[irp]