‘Slavish’ – ASUU rejects Nigerian Govt’s loans for staff of tertiary institutions

Recall that the Federal Government had launched the Tertiary
Institutions Staff Support Fund, a welfare and empowerment initiative offering
academic and non-academic staff of Nigerian tertiary institutions interest-free
loans of N10 million.

Addressing a press conference in Uyo on Monday, the zonal
Coordinator of ASUU, Calabar Zone, Comrade Ikechuku Igwenyi who was flanked by
chairpersons of the eight chapters in the zone, including the immediate past
zonal coordinator, Comrade Happiness Uduk, wondered how a government that owes
its workforce and refuses to implement the 2009 agreement with the union would
turn around to offer same workers interest free loan.

He described the gesture as “slavish” and an insult on the
lecturers’ sensibilities.

Igwenyi also wondered why government could not use such
funds to stabilize the workers through payment of their salaries and
improvement on their wages but instead, chose to embark on what he described as
frivolities.

He said: “How can a responsible government, in the face of these
debts owed university lecturers, turn around to ask university-based unions to
take the responsibility of guaranteeing the loan they know nothing about?

“Which salary structure will be used for the repayment?
Where will this huge amount government want to invest in this so-called
interest free loan come from?

“They have succeeded in imposing NELFUND on the system and
trapped students in a slavish loan that will cage the future of our children
and having succeeded, they have turned around to tie the hands and brains of
their parents with this impossible loan scheme.

“We therefore make bold to reject the Tertiary Institution
Staff Support Loan and everything it represents because it has been described
as a poisoned chalice.

“It insults our sensibilities that a government that pays
her workforce with an outdated salary structure adopted 17 years ago, will
refuse to renegotiate the same salary since 2012 it was due; refuse to pay
third party deductions for salaries paid almost a year ago and arrears of promotion;
constituted several renegotiation committees which produced many
well-thought-out agreements with MOUs, MOAs and timelines without
implementation.”

Igwenyi further lamented that each time the union pressed
its demands and tried to bring government to a dialogue table, it would come up
with teasers, blackmails and distractions such as “inauguration of new
Renegotiation Panel, Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System,
IPPIS, salary award that is outside the principles of collective bargaining,
palliatives, NELFUND and now, Tertiary Institution Staff Support Loan Scheme”.

He highlighted some of the lecturers’ grievances to include:
outdated salary structure, obsolete infrastructure, non-conducive learning
environment, proliferation of universities without assured sources of
sustainable funding for revitalization, research and development, undue
interference and intimidations by visitors of universities, among others.

Igwenyi therefore called for immediate signing and
implementation of the draft renegotiated 2009 agreement, domestication and
implementation of this agreement by respective visitors of state-owned
universities, release and payment of three and half months outstanding salaries
of members and the third party deductions by IPPIS.

Other demands include payment of promotion arrears and
implementation of mainstreamed EAA in their salaries; review of the NUC Act to
accommodate some of the lapses as have been pointed out; respect for the
TETFund Act and an end to the abuse and misuse of TETFund monies to fund sundry
expenses instead of research and academic development.