FG yet to release withheld salaries to ASUU, others

The Federal Government is yet to release the withheld salaries of university lecturers, workers, and other employees of federal polytechnics and colleges of education.

This is despite the waiver granted by President Bola Tinubu.

In October, Tinubu approved a partial waiver of the no-work-no-pay order on striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) alongside other academic unions and ordered the release of salaries withheld for four months.

The President’s spokesperson, Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement, said that the waiver was granted invoking the principle of the presidential prerogative of mercy, and in recognition of the faithful implementation of terms that were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria.

Ngelale stated that the waiver “will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union”.

The ASUU strike, which began on February 14, 2022, and ended on October 17, 2022, was the longest in the union’s history.

It would be recalled that the strike was declared over demands for improved funding for universities, increased salaries for lecturers, and better working conditions by the striking union.