Lucky Obukohwo Reporting
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Benin Zone, has placed its members on a red alert on resumption of the suspended strike as the one-month window periods wind up.
Addressing Journalists on behalf of the Benin Zone of ASUU, Prof. Monday Igbafen said the warning became absolutely necessary because they are tired of the back-and-forth approach of the Federal Government to the negotiation.
Prof Igbafen said that it is sheer wickedness for lecturers to remain in the same salary structure for over 15 years when it is obvious that nothing remains constant in life.
“We are saying enough is enough to the back-and-forth approach of the federal government to the negotiation. This half-hearted approach must stop now. This we are talking with ASUU without results must stop.
“The most obvious implication of the refusal of the government to conclude this negotiation is that university teachers in Nigeria have continued with the same salary regime of 2009 when the value of the naira to a dollar was N120, and this is even added to the fact that salaries in other sectors have since been reviewed upward twice or more.
“It is sad to note that what a professor at the bar earns in today’s Nigeria is less than $400 per month, which is a scandalous under-valuation of Nigerian scholars.
“To continue to remain on the same salary regime for more than 15 years without a meaningful review is not only wicked and inhuman but also a catalyst for resistance, industrial disharmony and brain drain”, Prof. Igbafen said.
Igbafen accused the Minister of education of not be sincere with the union, stressing that such is not healthy for the education sector.
“Most worrisome is the fact that the actions and pronouncements of government functionaries, including the Minister of Education are antithetical to a genuine and speedy resolution of the issues.
“They are deliberately undermining the negotiation process by their subtle misrepresentations of issues and agreements, including the so-called government offers and their implementation, especially as they relate to the part-payment of promotion arrears dating as far back to 2017, and the release of third-party deductions, which are a part of our members’ unpaid benefits for years.
“They have wickedly portrayed these as core or substantial issues, while at best, they are mere confidence boosting exercises which should not be framed as the substantial issues of the negotiation process.
“The result of this dishonesty is that, the federal government had been dishing half-truths to the public on the negotiation and this strategy portends an inevitable crisis”, Igbafen said.
He said the problem with the federal government is that it lacks the political will, and not economic will to address ASUU’s issues.
“The sing song by government about the paucity of funds or the global economic downturn as an excuse to deny the education sector adequate funding is no longer tenable considering the prevailing economic reality.
“Government needs to be reminded that there has been a quantum leap in the revenue profile of both the federal and state governments. We are not unaware of the 2022 data from the Federal Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) which evidently confirmed that states received a total of N3.92 trillion, while the figure for 2024 was N5.81 trillion, showing a staggering increase of over 62 percent.
“Similarly, our Union is aware that the federal government received N3.42 trillion in generated revenue in 2022 and N4.65 trillion in 2024, representing a humongous increase of over 70 percent.
“Consequently, as a Union, we believe that it is more of a lack of political will rather than economic factors that has been undermining the resolution of this renegotiation process.
“So, the Government must stand firm and resolve these unresolved issues once and for all within the time it still has at its disposal. Like other Zones of our great Union across the country, the Benin Zone of ASUU is ready for the directive of the NEC of our Union to resume the suspended strike action at the expiration of the given one-month window”, Igbafen added.