The Federal Government has initiated the payment of the withheld salaries of academics who are members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). Multiple sources within the academic sector confirmed this development in Abuja on Monday.
Prof. Gbolahan Bolarin, the chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, affirmed the news on record, stating, “Yes, it is true. Payment has started rolling in.”
President Bola Tinubu had approved the release of four out of the eight months’ worth of salaries that were withheld from ASUU workers in October 2023. These salaries were held back during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who implemented a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against certain university-based unions that engaged in an eight-month strike in 2022.
In addition, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, recently announced a 35 per cent increase in the salaries of university workers. Furthermore, the government has granted autonomy to universities by removing them from the Integrated Payment and Payroll Information System.
He added that the universities no longer need a waiver to recruit and fill vacancies.
These resolutions were reached through informal consultations with the unions based in the tertiary institutions, Mamman said.