AAU ASUU Denies Salary Payment Claims by SIT, Alleges 29-Month Arrears
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ambrose Alli University (AAU), Ekpoma chapter, has denied claims made by the Special Intervention Team (SIT) regarding the payment of outstanding salaries owed to staff members.
In a statement signed by Dr. Cyril Onogbosele, Chairman, and Dr. William Odion, Assistant Secretary, the union rejected the statement made by Comrade Austin Osakue, a member of SIT. Osakue had recently submitted an ‘End-of-tenure report’ to Governor Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, stating that the team had settled outstanding loans and debts amounting to N400 million, along with clearing eight months’ worth of unpaid salaries.
The AAU ASUU leadership maintains that the claim of salary payment remains unsubstantiated and asserts its position against the backdrop of ongoing financial challenges within the university.
He also said that N330.4 million are salaries while N72.3 million are for pension, which is being paid regularly.
Reacting, the leadership of ASUU in the university described the claims by the SIT as dubious, patently false and misleading.
Onogbosele noted that the university is still in default of payment of salaries of some staff for 29 months while others are being owed up to May 2024.
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According to him, in addition, check-off dues and welfare savings of members of ASUU and other staff unions in the university deducted by the management from September 2020 to November 2021, amounting to over N2 billion, have not been paid until now.
He also rejected the governor’s praise of the team for their performance.
The SIT report, according to him, is gross misrepresentation of facts, a slap on the face of truth and a desperate attempts by the team to justify their illegality and cover up their failures.
“The Union stated that since SIT was constituted in May 2021 by Edo State Government to illegally play the role of a governing council in the University which normally performs the functions of sourcing for funds for the University, repositioning it and ensuring industrial harmony among other things, the endpoint of SIT’s performance is abysmal failure.
“The Union bemoans that It is sad that the Governor commended their reign in the University that was characterized by impunities, dehumanization and victimization of staff and students, denial of workers’ right to appropriate wages, poor funding of the University, industrial disharmony and erosion of university’s autonomy, culture and ethos,” he added.
The ASUU chairman also described as false the claim by the SIT of employing qualified staff to fill identified gaps in the university, noting that its mode of employment of staff in the university was a farce.
He alleged that in recruitments of staff, the SIT set aside the university’s Law and Regulations, and foisted on the employees alien conditions of service and prohibitions from joining any trade union in violation of their fundamental human rights guaranteed by the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
