By Chimezie Godfrey
The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has decried selective and biased payment payment of salaries to selective Professionals.
In a statement jointly signed by the Union’s Branch Chairperson, M N Almustapha and Secretary, S. A. Sadiku lamented that the sad development was a move to further polarize and sectionalize ASUU.
The statement recalled that the Union was on strike (from 14th February to 14th October, 2022) to press for its legitimate demands, aimed at salvaging the University system from imminent collapse.
It also recalled also that, on the 14th of July, 2022, the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment granted an interview with Arise TV, where he stated, quote “Medical lecturers are at work, they are teaching. Sokoto has graduated their medical students, they are reasonable people, they have tested the strike, and saw that it produces no result, yes they did it the last time. So, today, they have written, their Vice Chancellor has approved that they are at work.
“This claim by the Honourable Minister, after careful investigation and consultation with the Vice Chancellor, the Provost of the Collage of Health Sciences and the Chairman, Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN), UDUTH Branch, was found to be false. Thus, on the 17th of July, 2022, the Branch addressed a press conference at the NUJ Secretariat, Sokoto to refute the claim by the Minister. During the said conference, the Branch, categorically and unequivocally stated that, no member of the mentioned body in Usmanu Dafodiyo University was working during strike.
“The Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment having realised that he failed in his attempt to divide the rank and file of ASUU, specifically targeting UDUS Branch for obvious mischievous reasons, has now come up with another treacherous move aimed at further dividing the Union.
“On Monday, 31st October, 2022 the Academic Staff Union of Universities, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto (ASUU UDUS) Branch received information that a segment of academic staff in the Collage of Health Sciences (CHS) have been paid a backlog of seven months of their withheld salary (March to September).
“Our preliminary investigations, as to why only a section of academic staff in the university were paid, revealed that, the payment was made due to a letter written to the Hon. Minister of Finance instructing the exemption of some listed staff from the application of “No work No Pay” rule. The Letter was written by the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment on the 24th of October, 2022, directing the payment of withheld salary of Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) of Usmanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) Sokoto Chapter, with the pretence that this category of staff has been working during the strike.
“This situation further created tension and division within the campuses of Usmanu Danfodiyo University, escalating also to other Universities,” Union said.
The Union added,”This press conference is called to put the records straight and to expose the heinous activities of the Minister of labour and employment, a medical doctor, approved the salary payment of members that are only medical doctors in the University, just to FAVOUR his “professional” colleagues with the intention of sabotaging the Union in all fronts and further creates disharmony in the University system.
“This is to further and specifically state that: “All the academic staff in Usmanu Danfodiyo University Sokoto, including those in the College of Health Sciences, were fully and undoubtedly on a total and comprehensive strike right from the beginning, on the 14th of February till its suspension on the 14th October, 2022.
“None of the members of ASUU UDUS or any section of the academic staff of the Branch pulled out of the strike action until when the national body called for its suspension.
“Not all members of Medical and Dental Consultants’ Association of Nigeria (MDCAN) of Usamanu Danfodiyo University Teaching Hospital (UDUTH) are academic staff. So, how can their working in the teaching hospital amount to working in the University during the strike?
The Union stressed that the Minister of Labour, treacherously, used the position of those staff as honorary consultants with the teaching hospital to argue for their payment, which is completely a different case with their role and membership of university community as academics staff.
It therefore noted that the questions that beg for answers are, why did the Minister selected only medics in Collage of Health Sciences, UDUS and instructed on their salary payments, while neglecting the rest of the university community who were on strike altogether?
“Why didn’t he choose to pay the principal officers of the University, including the vice chancellor who were on seat throughout the strike period, but went ahead to pay a selected medical doctors.
“How could the Collage of Health Sciences, which consist of different faculties, including the Allied Health Sciences, Medical Laboratory Sciences and the rest, teach and graduate medical students alone without the input of other stakeholders?
“Where were the students that were taught during the strike action? The hostel and other campuses remained completely shut during the eight months,” the Union asked.
The Union challenged anyone, either in the Labour Ministry or MDCAN UDUTH to produce any factual evidence that anyone had ever worked during the strike that warranted the selective release of their salary.
It noted that it is now on record that, the Minister of Labour and Employment, is using his good office to settle some personal scores against a certain segment of academic staff that are not his “professional” colleagues.
“The Honourable Minister’s pursuit to polarise and sectionalise the Union by creating divisions, unpleasant relationship and disharmony within the rank of Academics, along professions of members of the Union is typical of his behaviours since assumption in office.
“He made several attempts to split the Union by sponsoring different groups of academics to form a parallel union based on their professions.
“The Union is not surprised and will not be moved by this treacherous, antiintellectual posture and dangerous precedence set by the Honourable Minister, who unfortunately was appointed as Minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to provide a level playing ground in resolving any dispute in the labour sector.
“That the backlog of salaries received by a select few from the OAGF based on the Minister’s letter was just an attempt to circumvent the already truce reached between the Federal Government and the Union.
“We still reiterate our call on the Federal Government of Nigeria to as a matter of urgency, do the needful and call the Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment to order before his bias actions sets the peace clock backwards again and plummet the labour sector into another crisis,” the Union stressed.
