Dr. Chris Ngige, Minister of Labour and Employment, has given the reason why it is hard for Federal Government to increase Lecturers’ salaries.
According to him, any increase in allowances and salaries that is proposed by the Academic Staff Union of Universities and is not in accordance with the National Salaries and Wages Commission will not be implemented.
The minister also advised the union to work with the National Salaries, Income, and Wages Commission and the Presidential Steering Committee on Salaries and Wages to achieve the best results.
According to news reports, ASUU and the Federal Government have begun a series of talks aimed at ending the union’s four-week strike.
ASUU declared the strike on February 14, 2022, at a National Executive Council meeting held at Unilag, over what it claimed was the government’s failure to meet its demands.
And ASSU demand includes earned allowances, the disbursement of revitalization funds for universities, an increase in the salary scale of lecturers, and the implementation of the UTAS payment platform for university workers, among others.
Following ASUU’s declaration, religious organizations, the House of Representatives, and student bodies, among others, urged the Federal Government to persuade the union to call off the strike.
Ngige told reporters that one of ASUU’s main demands was an increase in allowances and salaries.