VC denies allegations, clarifies issues

By Harris Emmanuel & Chioma Onuegbu – Uyo

Academic Staff of Akwa Ibom State University, AKSU, main campus, Ikot Akpaden, in Mkpat Enin Local government area has shut down the university over alleged illegal salaries deduction and refusal of the management to implement new minimum wage approved by the government.

It was gathered that the aggrieved staff numbering over one hundred went on a protest about 8:00 am on Tuesday which grounded academic activities in the institution as they barricaded the main entrance of the institution, denying people access into the premises.

They also displayed placards with various inscriptions such as; “pay us our peculiarities allowances, we are tired of half salaries, why treating us as beggars, among others.

Some of the staff who spoke to Vanguard on grounds of anonymity lamented why the university management would want to shortchange them even when the state government approved the new minimum wage for them.

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One of them said, “It is sad for the university management to take us for fools over the new minimum wage. That is the main issue. Even, we have been receiving is half of the old salaries. It is surprising to us that the new wage they want to approve for us is far below the old rate.

Another source in the department of political science disclosed that part of their grievance has to do with the non-payment of 16months arrears owed 209 staff employed since 2014.

Reacting, the AKSU Vice-Chancellor, Prof. Eno Ibanga said he was surprised over the development as the school management was not aware of the staff grievances.

“I came to the office this morning and saw the gate locked. According to our law, before you down tools, you have to tell the Chief executive, which in this case is the University Management, what their grievances were but they did not.

“The union leaders are involved, but when I accosted them, they tried to deny it. All the unions in the University have factions, it is the dissidents that are leading the protest.

“And the genesis of this protest is that the union went to the government for negotiations on the new minimum wage. The government approved the minimum wage table and gave to me.

“It is the implementation of this table that they said I should have added something. But I said no when a government gives you a table to implement, you pay to the letter. What should I add? I cannot sit in my office and generate a new table.

“When this happened, I called all the unions and discussed with them, that this is the table approved and each union sent a representative to this negotiation with the government before this table came out.

“Because of this new minimum wage table, some people are underpaid and they have some shortage. We wrote back to the government to tell them that some people are short paid.

READ ALSO: Minimum wage controversies

“I asked the registrar to send out a circular that there are some disagreements on this table but let us pay what we have, when they have brought out any changes, we will keep, and if they are any arrears, we pay.

“But when I came this morning, they locked the gate and started the protest. I have reported to the government and they have already invited them for meeting with the head of the service tomorrow”, Ibanga explained.

Efforts to get the reaction of the Chairman of Academic Staff Union of Universities, Prof Otoabasi Akpan failed as his G.S.M number was reading not reachable.

vanguard