Minister denies bias payment for ASUU members
The Nigerian Government has denied allegation of bias in the payment of salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Nigeria (ASUU).
Platforms Africa has earlier reported that members of ASUU in University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, University of Nigeria Nsukka, Ahmadu Bello University, University of Maiduguri, Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta and others were paid half of their salaries for October.
The government said that members of ASUU were paid their October salary pro-rata and not half salary as was reported.
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A statement by Olajide Oshunde, Head of Press and Public Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment , explained that pro-rata was done because they cannot be paid for work not done.
The statement said the Minister of Labour and Employment, Sen. Chris Ngige, never directed the Accountant General of the Federation to pay the university lecturers half salary.
The statement reads: “Following the ruling of the Court of Appeal, which upheld the order of the National Industrial Court of Nigeria (NICN), asking ASUU to go back to work, the leadership of the union wrote to the Minister, informing him that they have suspended the strike. The Federal Ministry of Education wrote to him in a similar vein and our labour inspectors in various states also confirmed that they have resumed work.
“So, the Minister wrote to the Federal Ministry of Finance, Budget and Planning, directing that their salaries should be restored. They were paid in pro-rata to the number of days that they worked in October, counting from the day that they suspended their industrial action. Pro-rata was done because you cannot pay them for work not done. Everybody’s hands are tied. ”
The statement also faulted a statement by the Chairperson of ASUU, Usman Danfodiyo University Sokoto (UDUS) branch, Muhammad N. Al-Mustapha, accusing Ngige, of biased payment of salaries to selected professional members of the union.
“Those obviously being referred to by the UDUS ASUU chairperson were members of the Medical and Dental Consultants Association (MDCAN) who abstained from the eight-month strike of ASUU because they abhorred the incessant strikes by the union and its grave effects on medical education in Nigeria and production of more medical doctors.
