Federal University Workers Demand Payment Of 4-Month Withheld Salaries

Under the auspices of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian institutions (SSANU), non-teaching staff members in all Nigerian institutions have requested that President Bola Tinubu see to it that their salaries, which were withheld for four months by the administration of previous President Muhammadu Buhari, are paid.

In a petition to the National Executive Council, the union stated that if the withheld paychecks were paid, its members would be able to celebrate Christmas as usual.

In a statement released following the meeting, President Mohammed Ibrahim of SSANU also encouraged President Tinubu to keep his word over the N35,000 wage award.

Recall that a few weeks prior, President Tinubu issued an order directing the withholding of salary from university employees; nevertheless, the payment has not yet been made to academic or non-academic staff.

The SSANU President said, “NEC-in-session acknowledged the approval by the government to pay the 4 months salaries of our members withheld as a result of the last industrial action embarked by the Union.

“NEC-in-session deliberated on the undue delay by the government in paying the four months salaries and therefore urges the government to pay the money without further delay. This is to boost the already fading confidence of our members in government.”

Ibrahim celebrated the universities’ recent removal from the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment platform alongside its equivalent in the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), calling it a positive move.

 “NEC-in-session appreciates the decision of the federal government to exempt all tertiary institutions from IPPIS. While commending this decision, it, however, encourages the government to critically consult the Management of Universities and labour unions on a workable, reliable, seamless, and acceptable approach in transiting to the new regime to capture the peculiarities of university workers.

“This is with a view to forestall the complicated problems that plagued the use of IPPIS. NEC, therefore, urges the government to consider improving the old system with some latest features in the U3PS payment solution  presented to it by the JAC of SSANU and NASU,” he said.

Speaking on the N35,000 wage award, Ibrahim said, “NEC-in-session recalls the approval of the government to increase the salaries of university workers by 25% and 35%.

“Though this proposal is a far cry from the salary increase demanded by SSANU, we regarded it as an award by the government and therefore expected that the award should have been implemented by now.”