The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) at the University of Port Harcourt has expressed deep disappointment over the Federal Government’s continued failure to review the conditions of work for its members, News About Nigeria reports.
This grievance was expressed during a news briefing on Tuesday, followed by a protest on the university campus in Port Harcourt.
Chairman of ASUU UNIPORT, Uzoma Chima, revealed that 325 senior lecturers promoted to professorial levels have not received their promotion arrears for the past 30 to 40 months.
Chima, alongside the union’s secretary, Salem Ejeba, emphasised the urgency of the situation, calling on President Bola Tinubu’s administration to take immediate action to avoid another crisis in the nation’s universities.
“The Federal Government has refused to pay promotion arrears to 325 lecturers in this institution. These individuals, who have been promoted to the professorial level, are still owed between 30 to 40 months’ arrears,” Chima stated.
During the briefing, Chima recounted the previous 18-month strike by ASUU, which stemmed from the government’s inability to address the welfare of lecturers and the development of university education.
He expressed concern that instead of addressing the union’s demands, the government has resorted to punitive measures.
“Rather than sincerely address and find a lasting solution to the issues which impinge negatively on industrial harmony, quality education, and the smooth-running of our public universities, the Federal Government resorted to the use of starvation by withholding the salaries of our members for over seven months and coercion through the National Industrial Court and the Appeal Court,” Chima lamented.
Despite the suspension of the last strike over 20 months ago, Chima pointed out that the federal government has only paid lip service to the issues raised by ASUU.
He stressed the critical need for better remuneration, noting that the conditions of service for lecturers have not been reviewed in the past 15 years despite increasing inflation and economic hardship.
