ASUU, Akure Zone,To Close Down Four Universities

By Ayodele Oni

The Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) Akure Zone is set to close down four universities in the zone for breach of agreement.

The leadership of the zone expressed preparedness to join another national strike if Government failed to pay members’ earned allowance, arrears of promotion and revitalize universities to a world class standard.

The affected universities are; Federal University of Technology, Akure, (FUTA); Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-ife, (OAU); Ekiti state University, (EKSU) Ado-Ekiti and Federal University, Oye Ekiti, (FUOYE).

The Zonal ASUU Coordinator, Prof Olu Olufayo, said in Ado Ekiti that government has been passive on the white paper of the Visitation Panels to all Federal universities in the country.

He stated that “We hope that the Government is not trying to protect some sacred cows by not releasing the white paper on time because the system is rife with nepotistic fragrance.”

Prof Olufayo pointed out that it was unfortunate that no lecturer has been paid despite claim by the government to have captured the first tranche of earned Academic allowance payment in the supplementary budget and assented to by the President.

“There are two outstanding tranche of Earned Academic Allowance EAA. The government by agreement was to pay one tranche of the EAA to deserving lecturers by May 2021 and the second tranche to follow.

“Similarly government informed us that mainstream of the EAA had been captured in the 2021 supplementary budget already given assent by the president but not yet implemented. All issues raised here are still outstanding.”

He condemned proliferation of Universities by the State Government without physical infrastructure coupled with abysmal payment of salaries.

Chairmen ASUU, FUTA branch, Prof Yinka Awopetu and his counterpart from OAU, Dr Adeola Egbedokun disclosed that there were promotions of three years which had not been affected due to infamous platform of Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System IPPIS imposed on them by government.

“Many of our members are owed millions in arrears of salaries because of the deliberate attempt to punish us via the infamous platform of Integrated Payroll and person information system IPPIS.”

The threat by the Akure zonal ASUU is coming just as the national parent body issued threat of a possible resumption of its suspended strike due to government failure to implement its own side of agreement.