FG begins payment of ASUU’s withheld salaries

The Federal Government has begun the payment of the withheld salaries of academics under the umbrella of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.

Various sources in the academic sector confirmed the development on Monday.

Prof. Gbolahan Bolarin, Chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, who confirmed the development on the record, said, “Yes, it is true. Payment has started rolling in.”

President Bola Tinubu had in October 2023 approved the release of four of the eight-month ASUU’s withheld salaries.

The salaries were withheld when the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay Policy’’ against the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), which that embarked on a strike that lasted eight months in 2022.

Recently, Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education said the government has increased the university workers’ salaries by 35%.

The minister also said the government has granted autonomy to the 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.