There are indications of a brewing crisis in the Nigerian university system as the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has criticised alleged ill-treatment meted out on the body.
Their grievances follow a recent directive by the presidency to pay workers in the university system their withheld salaries but leave out the NAAT members.
Recall that the Federal Government directed the Office of Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) to effect payment of the withheld salaries owed workers in the university system when they went on strike, but information filtered to NAAT that they have been excluded.
President of NAAT, Comrade Ideji Nwokoma who raised the concerns in a statement on Sunday, noted that at the high-level stakeholders meeting held on the 11th January 2024 at the National Universities Commission (NUC) Auditorium, on the modalities, of exiting from IPPIS, one of the major highlights and the take-home message was the statement made by Honourable Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, to the effect that all arrangements were concluded by Federal Government on the payment of withheld salaries to all members of University-Based Unions in Federal Universities.
Nwokoma said their talks also involved the implementation of the new salary structure of 25% and 35% salary increase for all workers in Educational Tertiary Institutions to the delight of everybody present including the Vice-chancellors and the Union leaders.
He wondered how the disparity was being brought to the fore when the Federal Government was determined to do everything humanly possible to avoid industrial unrest in our Educational Tertiary Institutions.
His words, “We find it very difficult to reconcile the Honourable Minister’s pronouncement with the action of the Federal Government to pay only members of Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) the withheld salaries to the exclusion of members of our Union.
“We view this attempt as very unfair and unjust as it pitches the membership of our Union against the leadership and is creating a charged atmosphere as it is a recipe for total disruption of academic activities in our campuses.
“It is pertinent to draw the attention of the Minister of Education to the current economic hardship being experienced by Nigerians, including our members occasioned by the removal of petroleum subsidy, which has made life very unbearable due to the high cost of leaving coupled with the purchasing power of our currency being grossly eroded, rendering the salaries of workers with little or no value.
“The persistent failure of the Federal Government to honour and implement agreements freely entered through collective bargaining was what led the Unions in the University sector to embark on the strike action in the first place.
” Moreover, the laboratory/ workshop and studio work lost during the strike has been covered by Academic Technologists as students have since graduated and some completed the mandatory National Youth Service program.
“These agreements include the recent 16-point agreement freely signed with the two Labour Centres, Nigerian Labour Congress (NIC) and the Trade Union Congress (TUC) and other Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) signed between our Union and Federal Government where the non-implementation has further compounded an already precarious situation.
“It is only fair and reasonable for the Federal Government to ruminate on the path taken which in our opinion is unfair and will not guarantee the peaceful coexistence and industrial harmony that we all desire.
“We therefore strongly appeal to the Honourable Minister to look at the plight of our members and expeditiously pay the over five-month withheld salaries, implement the 25% and 35% approved salary increase with arrears and release the arrears of earned allowances of NAAT members as contained in the MoU signed between NAAT and Federal Government on 17 August, 20
“While appreciating the Honourable Minister’s commitment to the welfare of NAAT members, accept the renewed assurances of our esteemed regards”.
