The Federal Government has agreed to
release N30 billion as part payment of the
Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) to the
Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Sen. Chris Ngige. Minister of Labour and
Employment said this at the end of a meeting
between the Federal Government and ASUU
on Friday in Abuja.
“The Accountant General of the Federation
(AGF) was committed to release N30 billion
on or before Nov. 6.
“The remaining N10 billion would be spread
equally over the two tranches to be paid in
May 2021 and February 2022 respectively.
The OAGF should quickly conclude the
verification of figures of EAA claims so as to
clean up the figures from 2014 to 2020.
“To this end, a committee would be
constituted by NUC to develop a template
that would capture all the agreed allowances
in the 2009 Agreement for all the Unions in
the Universities.
“Thereafter, the OAGF and the National
University Commission (NUC) are to quickly
conclude the verification of the EAA figures,
so as to defray the payment from 2014 to
2020. ASUU is to work with the OAGF and
NUC to achieve that by the end of
December,” he said.
He noted that the process of mainstreaming
of the EAA into annual budget using the
agreed formula shall be activated.
He also said that the NUC and Ministry of
Education are to coordinate the activation
process immediately and should be
concluded by Nov. 6th.
Ngige added that the National Assembly has
agreed to implement the process of
mainstreaming provided the amount involved
is sent in as quickly as possible by the
Ministry of Education.
The minister also said that both parties
agreed on the issue of funding for the
revitalisation of public universities.
“In spite of the economic downturn as a
result of COVID-19 pandemic, government
have offer N20 billion payable by the end of
January 2021, ” he said.
that ASUU also agreed to take the
offer to its members for consideration and
revert by Oct. 21.
“The Minister of Education will follow up with
the Minister of Finance, Budget and National
Planning on its earlier Memo to Mr President
on sources of alternative funding for
revitalisation to facilitate the process of
additional funding of the University system.
“This is with a view to reactivating the
Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) of
2013 as agreed in the Memorandum of Action
(MoA) of 2019,” he said.
Ngige, however, said it was agreed that on
the issue of Salary Shortfall that ASUU will
confirm and report at the next meeting.
On the state universities, it was agreed that
the NUC Act will be amended in order to
strengthen its regulatory capacity.
It was agreed that ASUU will work with NUC
on this and then involve the relevant
Committee of the National Assembly.
He noted that on the payment of EAA to
ASUU members at the University of Ilorin that
the issue has been resolved.
Ngige however noted that the meeting was
informed that the visitation panels to Federal
Universities have been approved by Mr
President, but they have not been gazetted.
He said that the Federal Ministry of Education
is to ensure gazetting within two weeks on or
before Oct. 29th.
“The meeting agreed that the Panel will be
inaugurated latest by the end of November
and the Panel will have a four to six weeks
mandate to finish its work by Dec. 31st and
submit two reports per university covering
five years periods of 2011 – 2015 and 2016 –
2020,” he said.
Ngige also revealed that government
renegotiating team would be reconstituted on
or before Oct. 31, and the renegotiation will
be concluded on or before Dec. 31.
On the Integrated Payroll and Personnel
Information System (IPPIS), the meeting was
informed that ASUU has met its timeline
regarding the first stage of the initial
demonstration of the efficacy of the
University Transparency and Accountability
Solution (UTAS) to government.
The meeting also agreed that if UTAS passed
all the integrity test, which involve the
National Information Technology
Development Agency (NITDA) and the Office
of the National Security Adviser (NSA), it
would be adopted for the payment of the
University staff.
Meanwhile the meeting could not agree on
how payment would be done for ASUU
members during the transitional period of
UTAS tests.
It said that the government side again
appealed to ASUU to enroll on IPPIS platform
in view of the Presidential directive that all
Federal Government employees should be
paid via IPPIS.
It added that they can thereafter be migrated
to UTAS whenever certified digitally efficient
and effective with accompanying security
coverage.
The ASUU maintained that given ASUU’s
invention of UTAS, it should be exempted
from IPPIS in the transition period.
Also on the issue of withheld salaries of
ASUU members, the meeting agreed that
Government will pay this money as soon as
the mode of payment is agreed upon by both
parties.
The meeting is to reconvene on Oct. 21 for
ASUU to report back on the decision of her
National Excecutive Counclil (NEC), in order
to facilitate the calling off of their strike.
(NAN)