By Bukola Kayode
Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila has pleaded with President Muhammadu Buhari to pay members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Gbajabiamila in a personally signed statement said the House intervened to ensure that part of the demands of the union is captured by appropriation of the National Assembly.
Recall that Frontline News Online reported that the Federal Government paid lecturers fifty percent of their salaries for the month of October, saying it was guided by the ‘No work, no pay’ rule.
He stated that the Federal Government is obliged to uphold the rules.
The Speaker while calling for understanding and patience among all groups involved also explained the interventions by the House would take a long time to take effect.
The statement read in part: “Executive position that it is not obligated to pay salaries to lecturers for the time spent on strike is premised on the law and the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and discouraging disruptive industrial actions. Nonetheless, interventions have been made to explore the possibility of partial payments to the lecturers.
“We look forward to a favourable consideration by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR who has manifested his desire to what is prudent and necessary to resolve all outstanding issues”.
“Implementing meaningful change takes time, especially when appropriations and modifications to systems such as IPPIS are required. Therefore, I urge all parties to be patient and grant each other the presumption of goodwill to the extent necessary to achieve our shared objectives. This is not a time for political brinkmanship. There is no more pressing objective than to preclude the possibility of further disruptions to the academic calendar of the universities. We must prevent this possibility by all means, as these disruptions risk the promise and potential of our nation’s youth.
“Three weeks ago, I called for a national conversation on the substantive reforms required to address the underlying issues bedevilling public tertiary education in Nigeria. To that end, the House of Representatives is convening a National Summit on Tertiary Education Reform. We have called for papers and memoranda from members of the public. The submissions we receive and expert presentations at the Summit will inform our policy recommendations and actions. I urge all citizens and stakeholders to participate in this crucial effort to reinvent our public tertiary institutions into respected citadels of learning”, the statement further read.
Read full statement bellow:
STATEMENT BY THE SPEAKER OF THE HOUSE OF
REPRESENTATIVES, REP. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA ON THE
RESOLUTION OF OUTSTANDING ISSUES BETWEEN THE
ACADEMIC STAFF UNION OF UNIVERSITIES (ASUU)
AND THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT OF NIGERIA.
Monday, 7th November 2022
1. When the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) called off
their industrial action three weeks ago, it meant that academic
activities could resume in our nation’s public universities, and
students could return to their academic pursuits after the prolonged interruption. This decision was rightly heralded nationwide as the correct decision.
2. Since then, the Executive and the House of Representatives have
worked to address the issues that led to the strike. We are currently
working on the 2023 Appropriations Bill, which includes the sum of one hundred and seventy billion naira (N170,000,000,000.00) to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of University lecturers. The Bill also includes additional three hundred billion naira (N300,000,000,000.00) in revitalisation funds to improve the
infrastructure and operations of federal universities.
3. Furthermore, the House of Representatives has convened the
Accountant General of the Federation (AGF), the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other stakeholders to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and
Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS). This effort is being
supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary
Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.
4. The Executive position that it is not obligated to pay salaries to
lecturers for the time spent on strike is premised on the law and the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and
discouraging disruptive industrial actions. Nonetheless, interventions have been made to explore the possibility of partial payments to the lecturers. We look forward to a favourable consideration by His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR who has manifested his desire to what is prudent and
necessary to resolve all outstanding issues.
5. Implementing meaningful change takes time, especially when
appropriations and modifications to systems such as IPPIS are required. Therefore, I urge all parties to be patient and grant each other the presumption of goodwill to the extent necessary to achieve our shared objectives. This is not a time for political brinkmanship. There is no more pressing objective than to
preclude the possibility of further disruptions to the academic
calendar of the universities. We must prevent this possibility by all
means, as these disruptions risk the promise and potential of our
nation’s youth.
6. Three weeks ago, I called for a national conversation on the
substantive reforms required to address the underlying issues
bedevilling public tertiary education in Nigeria. To that end, the House of Representatives is convening a National Summit on Tertiary Education Reform. We have called for papers and memoranda from members of the public. The submissions we receive and expert presentations at the Summit will inform our policy recommendations and actions. I urge all citizens and
stakeholders to participate in this crucial effort to reinvent our public tertiary institutions into respected citadels of learning.
7. God bless and keep you all, and God bless our Federal Republic of Nigeria.
REP. FEMI GBAJABIAMILA
Speaker, House of Representatives
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