…As NASU, SSANU meet today over strike

By Johnbosco Agbakwuru

THE Joint Action Committee, comprising the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, has accused the National Universities Commission, NUC, and the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU of conspiring against the non teaching staff in the universities in the disbursement of the recently released N22,127 billion Earned Allowances by the federal government.

Recall that the federal government released the said amount for disbursement to the four universities based unions, ASUU, NASU, SSANU and the National Association of Academic Technologists, NAAT.

In the sharing formula that has generated crisis, ASUU was given 75 per cent of the total sum, leaving 25 percent for the remaining three unions.

The three non teaching staff unions have rejected the sharing formula and have asked the government to reverse it in order not to cause industrial disharmony in the universities.

Last week, the JAC of SSANU and NASU declared a three day protest between Wednesday and Friday and will be meeting today in Abuja to take a final decision on whether to embark on indefinite strike if the government insists that the sharing formula of 75 percent for ASUU and 25 percent for NASU, SSANU and NAAT remains.

Meanwhile JAC has accused the Deputy Executive Secretary of NUC of working in cahoot with ASUU to short change the non teaching workers in the universities.

JAC accusation was premised on the memo from the Deputy Executive Secretary, Academics of the NUC, Mr. Superman Rahman-Yusuf dated 12th October, 2021, to the Executive Secretary.

The letter titled, “Re-Request for the Templates in payment of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) to the public universities”, read in part: “Please find attached the proposed distribution of the allocated 22,127 billion Naira to the federal universities based on weighted averages of appropriated salaries and wages.

“Also attached is the proposal from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on the distribution of the aforementioned for Earned Allowances.”

Speaking to Vanguard in Abuja, the National President of SSANU Comrade Mohammad Ibrahim accused NUC of working in collaboration with ASUU to undermine the non teaching staff.

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Comrade Ibrahim, who expressed surprise over the development rhetorically asked, “Why should ASUU suggest what government should give to us (SSANU, NASU and NAAT).

“Government has no business in sharing money for unions. The money should be given to the universities. This money belongs to workers, every one has appointment letter that specifies what he or she should be paid.

“ASUU cannot detect to the NUC. We the non teaching staff are not comfortable with the romance. The NUC should give us the opportunity to come and defend ourselves.”

The SSANU boss also said that when the previous Eearned Allowances were released and the sharing formula favoured only the teaching staff, the non teaching workers protested which led to the setting up of a forensic audit to determine how much each staff was supposed to receive and how much was paid, adding that the report of the forensic audit had been kept in secret.

He said, “Where is the result of the forensic audit? The Federal Government commissioned auditors to look into the books when we complained after the first tranche where government favoured ASUU.”

He said that the government had cleared what it was owing ASUU and that what the teaching staff were collecting was a bonus that were supposed to go to the non teaching staff unions.

Vanguard News Nigeria