The Federal Government has commenced with the payment of the salaries of lecturers under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), News About Nigeria reports.
This was confirmed to newsmen by the chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, Prof. Gbolahan Bolarin, in Abuja on Monday.
He noted that the lecturers have begun receiving their payments.
Speaking also, the Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, stated that the salaries of university workers have been increased by the federal government by 35 percent.
The minister further stated that the government has granted autonomy to the universities by removing them from the Integrated Payment and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), adding that the universities no longer needed a waiver to recruit and fill vacancies.
He disclosed that these resolutions were reached through informal consultations that were held with the unions based in tertiary institutions.
Recall that in October 2023, President Bola Tinubu approved the release of four of the eight months’ ASUU withheld workers’ salaries.
The President’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement, noted that the waiver was granted invoking the principle of the presidential prerogative of mercy, and in recognition of the faithful implementation of terms that were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria.
Salaries were withheld when the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against some university-based unions that embarked on a strike that lasted eight months in 2022.
