The Federal Government has initiated the disbursement of previously withheld salaries for academics affiliated with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as confirmed by multiple sources within the academic sector in Abuja on Monday.
Professor Gbolahan Bolarin, the chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, affirmed the commencement of salary payments.
This action follows President Tinubu’s approval in October 2023 to release four out of the eight months’ salaries that were withheld during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
The salaries were withheld in response to the ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ invoked against university-based unions that engaged in an eight-month strike in 2022.
Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, recently announced a 35 percent increase in university workers’ salaries by the government.
Additionally, the government has granted autonomy to universities by removing them from the Integrated Payment and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
This move eliminates the need for universities to seek a waiver for recruitment and vacancy filling.
Mamman highlighted that these decisions were reached through informal consultations with unions in tertiary institutions, marking a step towards resolving longstanding issues within the education sector.