The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a stern warning to the Bola Tinubu administration, threatening to halt academic activities in public universities if outstanding salaries are not settled within two weeks.
In a recent interview, ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke voiced frustration over the government’s decision to release only four out of seven-and-half months’ worth of withheld salaries. Osodeke argued that the delay in payment undermines the sacrifices made by lecturers during the 2022 strike period, emphasizing that universities have already covered the missed work.
“Every university in Nigeria today are in the 2023/2024 academic year which means that by September/October, they will be in the 2024/2025 academic year. The implication of this is that all the work for which we were not paid when we were on strike, we have covered them by making sacrifices.
None of our members have gone on leave in the past three to four years, we have not gone on vacation so that we can cover the work that we didn’t do while we were on strike which we have covered. You can check, ask the students. But when you said you are paying four out of seven-and-half, I don’t think you are being fair to us,” the ASUU president stated, adding that the two-week ultimatum to the government began on May 13, 2024.”
The ongoing dispute traces back to the prolonged strike action in 2022, during which academic and non-academic unions pressed for improved welfare conditions. Although the Tinubu administration authorized partial payment of withheld salaries, ASUU insists on full compensation for the entire strike duration.
Osodeke criticized the government’s allocation of trillions for road contracts while neglecting overdue payments to university staff, highlighting a growing disparity in financial prioritization. He stressed that failure to address the salary issue could escalate tensions, potentially leading to further disruptions in the education sector.
“We don’t want to hear that ‘we don’t have money’ because if a government can award contract of ₦15 or ₦13 trillion naira to construct a road and we are asking for just ₦200bn for Nigerian universities, all of them. If they (the government) have that money (for road construction), they should have money for us.
“Pay the three-and-half months’ salaries that are still being withheld having completed the work. It’s ‘no work, no pay’, we have done the work, they should pay us if not we will also bring the theory of ‘no pay, no work’,” he said.
Moreover, ASUU raised concerns regarding the dissolution of Governing Councils in federal universities, citing instances of illegal contracts and recruitments during the interim period. Osodeke emphasized the need for proper governance structures to prevent institutional irregularities and ensure transparency.
