The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Calabar zone, has described as an aberration and fraudulent, the N250,000 senior lecturers that should be promoted to professors are required to pay an assessment fee.
The union insisted that there is no clause in the act establishing the universities where a lecturer should pay for his own assessment.
In a statement signed by all the chairpersons comprising Calabar zone and read by the zonal coordinator, Dr Aniekan Brown, at Melany Hotel and Suites, Uyo Akwa Ibom State capital, the union said such a fee is not within the confines of the law regretting that those who refused to pay the sum had their promotions stagnated.
According to Brown, “there is no place that a lecturer should pay for his assessment. How can ill paid staff who have invested a lot of money in research and publishing, when the time for assessment for promotion comes, they will be asked to pay a whooping N250,000?
“ASUU views that as a case of criminality, because it’s not within the confines of the law. Infact, it’s an aberration, fraudulent and unconstitutional. Secondly, what do you mean I pay such huge sum and I don’t get favorable assessment? Please note that some of our colleagues who stand by the truth and refused to pay; their promotions are stagnated, even if their promotions are announced it is notional, no financial backings.”
Speaking on the insistence of the Federal Government that universities, as well as other agencies, should migrate to the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), the union said at no point had it supported the scheme and would never do describing it as a cesspool of corruption.
Dr Brown said it would be a case of historical irresponsibility for the union to accept what is not good for members stressing that ASUU was inaugurated with the mandate of advancing the course and welfare of members.
Buttressing his points, the Zonal Coordinator said, “It will be difficult for them to say that IPPIS stands for transparency. IPPIS is illiterate because it cannot read and understand the peculiarities of the Nigerian universities system. That is why we have salary fluctuations.
“Our union has always come against this IPPIS, legally, it goes against University autonomy and it failed to understand the peculiarities of Nigeria University system. IPPIS has no room for payment of salary promotion arrears.”
The union also condemned the proliferation of universities by state governors without taking care of the existing ones saying, “State governments proposing to establish new universities should be barred from accessing TETFund grants to support their projects for at least ten years. Owners of the proposed universities whether federal or State should provide verifiable growth plans for providing not less than 75% of their pensionable academic staff complement in addition to provision of requisite infrastructural facilities.”
ASUU also condemned the failure of the Federal Government to honor it’s part of the bargain which made the union suspend the nine months strike action saying that there is a limit to which their patience can reach.
It also made some demands which included: payment of staff emoluments starting with 2022 budgets, domestication of the universities act of 2012 in all universities, provision of functional pension scheme in line with the 2014 pension act.
Others included: payment of salaries, payment of allowances, third party deductions and other entitlements owed staff with a consciousness of a regular payment subsequently as well as constitution of visitation panels to all universities that have not been visited in at least, last five years.
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