TheCable

The federal government is set to pay the withheld salaries of lecturers under the Congress of University Academics (CONUA), a breakaway faction of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).

This was contained in a letter dated January 13, and addressed to Niyi Sunmonu, national coordinator of CONUA.

BACKGROUND

In 2022, lecturers under ASUU embarked on an eight-month strike over the non-implementation of their demands by the federal government.

Members of the union have been at loggerheads with the government since the strike ended, over non-payment of their salaries for the period the industrial action lasted.

CONUA, which was officially registered in October 2022, has consistently maintained that its members were not part of the strike.

FG ASKS CONUA TO FORWARD MEMBERS’ DETAILS

The letter, seen by TheCable, was signed by Charles Wali, director of the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) department, on behalf of the office of the accountant-general of the federation (AGF).

In the letter, Wali asked Sunmonu to provide a list of CONUA members and their details to the accountant-general’s office to facilitate payment of the withheld salaries.

He added that the development followed CONUA’s letter to the accountant general’s office in November 2022, seeking the payment of the withheld salaries of its members.

Sunmonu confirmed receipt of the letter to TheCable on Monday.

“I am directed to acknowledge receipt of your letter on the above subject matter dated 2nd November 2022 in respect of payment of your withheld backlog of salaries and to request you to provide soft copy of membership of CONUA across universities to enable payment as requested,” the letter reads.

“Meanwhile, you may wish to forward the following details to facilitate seamless deduction and remittance of check-off dues: Evidence of registration; official account details of the union; membership list of the union signed by each member; percentage of deduction (check-off dues)/amount to be deducted from each member, and mode of remittance between the headquarters and local chapters.

“Please note that details of members, which must always be hard and soft copies, should also include individual IPPIS numbers for ease of identification.”

It remains unclear if there are similar efforts by the federal government to also pay the withheld salaries of lecturers under ASUU.

Emmanuel Osodeke, ASUU president, did not respond to TheCable’s enquiry on the matter as of the time of this report.