According to the news article, the Federal Government of Nigeria has been accused of creating a crisis for the incoming government by excluding university lecturers from the pay rise recently announced for civil servants in the country. The President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made this accusation while addressing journalists in Abuja.
The ASUU president stated that the exclusion of university lecturers from the pay rise was unfair and discriminatory, especially as they had been on strike for several months in 2020 over issues of unpaid allowances, earned academic allowances, and the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
He added that the government’s decision to exclude university lecturers from the pay rise was a deliberate attempt to create a crisis for the incoming government, as the new government would be saddled with the responsibility of resolving the issue.
The ASUU president also called on the government to address the issues that led to the 2020 strike, the need to implement the 2019 agreement between the union and the government, which includes the payment of earned academic allowances, revitalization of public universities, and renegotiation of the 2009 agreement.
Furthermore, he warned that failure to address these issues could lead to another strike by the union. He noted that ASUU had not officially called off the 2020 strike but had only suspended it due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In conclusion, the exclusion of university lecturers from the recent pay rise has sparked concerns among ASUU members and stakeholders in the education sector. The government’s failure to address the issues that led to the 2020 strike may lead to another industrial action by the union, which could further disrupt the already fragile education system in the country.
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