Writing By Ali Muhammad Rabiu ; Editing By Godwin Duru
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Kwara State University Branch, have joined other branches of the union nationwide in demanding for the implementation of the 2009 agreement reached with ASUU by the federal government.
They specifically urged the Kwara State governor, AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq to pay their nine years earned academic allowance (EAA).
The chairman of KWASU ASUU, Professor Shehu Salau, while addressing Newsmen after the lecturers had staged a peaceful demonstration in Agric Estate- Sango Centre of KWASU in Ilorin, the state capital, said that the union had previously met with the governor and got his assurance of payment as soon as the economy of the state improved.
He said the union expects government to pay the allowances as the allocations from Abuja to states have improved tremendously.
According to him , despite all efforts, members are yet to receive a positive response from the government.
Professor Salau said that the third party deductions have not been paid in most Nigerian universities, adding that in KWASU on the other hand, EAA has not been paid since 2016.
He explained that to save the universities from pending avoidable crises, the union is calling on well meaning Nigerians to prevail on federal and state governments to immediately set in motion the process of signing and implementing the Yayale Ahmed-led renegotiated agreement among other demands.
On the non-payment and mainstreaming of Earned Academic Allowance in public universities, Salau said that the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement stipulated that the federal government would fund the EAA.
The University Don noted that the commitment was reaffirmed in the December 2020 Memorandum of Action (MoA), which emphasised the integration of earned allowance into the monthly salaries of academic staff, with the next tranche scheduled for disbursement in 2021.
COV/ALI MUHAMMAD RABIU
