ASUU ‘Wants N1.5tr’ To End Strike -Senate

The Senate on Wednesday said that the striking Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) wants N1.5 trillion to end its ongoing strike.

The Chairman of the Senate Committee on Education, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, released the figure in his contribution on a motion urging the striking lecturers to call off their strike.

The motion sponsored by the Senate Leader, Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, and 106 others is entitled: “Appeal to Academic Staff Union of Universities to call off the strike action and return to work.”

Chukwumerije, who read the controversial 2009 agreement between the Federal Government and ASUU, said that part of the component of the agreement on funding stipulated that “all regular federal universities shall require the sum of N1.5 trillion for the period 2009 to 2011.

He said that ASUU is insisting that the agreement must be implemented to the latter.

He said the agreement also said that “This money is to be paid in three installments, 2009 – almost N500 billion; 2010 – almost N500 billion and 2011 – almost N506 billion.

Apart from the N1.5 trillion the agreement also stipulated that “each state university shall require N3.6 million” while “a minimum of 26 per cent of the annual budget should be allocated to education.”

According to him, the agreement also said that “education should be put on First Line Charge” while the Education Tax Act should be amended to its original concept as High Education Fund.”

He noted that the agreement said that “Governing Council of Universities should access and effectively utilize from Education Tax Fund funds for research, training and development of academic staff.”

Other components of the agreement included Salary Structure of Academic Staff of Nigerian universities and earned academic staff allowances.

The earned academic staff allowances include: “Post graduate supervision allowances; teaching practice and industrial allowances; honorarium for external moderation of undergraduate and postgraduate examination system, postgraduate study grants; external assessment of readers or professors, call duty and clinical duty and hazard allowance and excess workload allowance.”