Kogi State University ASUU Gives Condition For Ending Strike

Kogi State University (KSU) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)  said it will call off its  three-month-old strike once the state government clears backlog of the two months’ salary arrears owed lecturers.

Acting chairman of ASUU, Dr Daniel Aina, who addressed a press conference in Lokoja, said the congress had resolved that the strike action would  be sustained “till the last kobo owed is paid and that the action will be invoked anytime delay in salary payment goes beyond the 7th day of the succeeding month.”

Dr Aina explained that the insistence of ASUU that all outstanding salaries be paid before resumption of work was in view of its intolerance for corruption amongst its members, adding that corruption tendencies would be rife once salary payments were delayed.

The union also expressed worry over the poor response of the state government to some of the issues affecting lecturers in the university, adding that government must live up to its responsibility for the institution to attain quality academic standard.

Dr Aina said besides the issue of salary payments, there were other grievances bordering on heavy taxation, non-implementation of contributory pensions, arrears of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) between 2009-2014 and university autonomy which were yet to be addressed.

He said the university had witnessed mass exodus of lecturers in recent times while lecturers who would have come to the institution on sabbatical were often discouraged due to the situation on ground.

“Prompt payment of salary is a sine qua non for the sustenance and growth of the Ivory Tower,” he said.

Credits: Itodo Daniel Sule/Daily Trust