Valid View Network has learned that the Federal Government has initiated the payment of previously withheld salaries owed to academics affiliated with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Valid View Network speaking to sources within the academic sector in Abuja on Monday, confirmed this development.
Prof. Gbolahan Bolarin, the chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, confirmed the news on record, stating, “Yes, it is true. Payment has started rolling in.”
President Bola Tinubu had previously approved the release of four out of the eight months’ salaries that were withheld from ASUU workers in October 2023.
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These salaries had been withheld when the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against certain university-based unions that participated in an eight-month strike in 2022.
Recently, Minister of Education Tahir Mamman disclosed that the government had increased salaries for university workers by 35%. Additionally, he mentioned that universities had been granted autonomy by being removed from the Integrated Payment and Payroll Information System (IPPIS). Mamman further stated that universities no longer require waivers for recruitment and filling vacancies.
These decisions were reportedly made following informal consultations with unions within tertiary institutions, as stated by Mamman.
Further details will be provided later.