…Commend UNIJOS Branch for donating N63.2m lecture hall to FG
President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi said the forceful migration of ASUU members by Federal Government to the discredited Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) has devalued the take-home pay of his members.
He said ASUU will continue to kick against the obnoxious and unfriendly policies of Federal Government that has compounded the living condition of members of the Union.
Prof. Ogunyemi disclosed this on Friday at the commissioning of the ASUU UNIJOS 1000 capacity lecture theater endowment project held at the University of Jos, Plateau State.
“We cannot pretend that we have all it takes to solve the problem. Our members are stressed and distressed. Our salary structure has been stagnated for 11 years and the forceful migration to the discredited Integrated and devalued the take-home pay of our members.
“What we take as salaries is fast losing in values and our capacity to embrace the path of philanthropy is rapidly diminishing.”
Prof. Ogunyemi noted that the struggle of the Union since March 2020 was to compel Federal Government to address several outstanding issues in the Memorandum of Action (MoA) signed in February, 2019.
He said the issues concerned finding for revitalisation based on the 2012 Needs Assessment Report; payment of the arrears of Earned Academic Allowances; inauguration of visitation panels to all federal universities; proliferation of state universities and issues of governance in them among others.
He commended the sacrifice made by ASUU UNIJOS for constructing a 1000 capacity theater which was donated to the University.
The Chairperson, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) University of Jos, Dr. Lazarus L. Maigoron said the members contributed over N63.2 million for the construction of the 1000 capacity lecture theater donated to the University.
He said the Union Award scholarships by paying tuition fees to 5 indigents students every session among several other things.
He said “The over-riding motivation for the sacrifice and intervention made by our members to resolve to contribute N63.2 million from their hard earned and meager salaries to construct this 1000 capacity Twin Lecture Theatre to be donated to the University and by extension Federal Government rest on the fact that Nigerian University education system is bedeviled by gross infrastructural deficit.
“One of the reasons why our Union isnon strike today is due to lack of adequate infrastructures for the purpose of quality teaching and learning. Our Union has always impressed on the Federal Government the need to inject more funding into the University system.”
Thenigerialawyer
