Unilorin ASUU tackles FG over salary delay, governing council appointments
By Innocent Raphael
The University of Ilorin branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has criticized the federal government for delaying the payment of the remaining balance of three and a half months of withheld salaries owed to university staff nationwide.
Addressing a press conference in Ilorin on Tuesday, Alex Akanmu, the chairman of the Unilorin ASUU, expressed the union’s frustration with the federal government’s inaction.
He condemned the appointment of elderly individuals to the governing councils of tertiary institutions, arguing that such appointments hinder the progress needed for 21st-century development.
“Go and see the compositions of the people appointed across the governing councils of our tertiary institutions; you are looking at people that are old. As academics, our concern is this: we are looking at octogenarians to drive a 21st-century development agenda; can they do it? No! That’s the barbaric and unacceptable level to which this government has taken the country,” Akanmu stated.
He highlighted that the delay in paying the withheld salaries reflects an attempt to undermine the dedication and commitment of academic staff who continue to serve students and the academic community despite financial challenges.
Akanmu asserted the union’s firm stance on the legitimacy of their demand for the withheld salaries and criticized what he termed the government’s “slave-master attitude.”
“It is twenty months and a few days since resumption from the 2022 industrial action with no positive development from the government on our demands for payment of outstanding Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) despite being captured in the 2023 Budget and or mainstreaming to our salaries with effect from 2022. The payment of our EAA till date remains a mirage while the government has acted unconcerned in the face of a stringent economic situation,” Akanmu added.
