SSANU, NASU, NAAT disagree with FG over Earned Allowances sharing formula

By Abimbola Oloyede and Grace Ishola
*Vow not to resume work till govt corrects imbalance

*New proposal presents to ASUU’ll address concerned areas — Ngige

*We’ll review the new proposal, says ASUU, suspends strike

*Nothing gained from the strike — Parents

*Students must involve in future negotiations — NANS, NAPTAN

Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), and National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), have disagreed with the Federal Government, over the sharing formula of the Earned Allowances government about to release to the university unions; as Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, suspended its nine-month strike.

The unions vowed not to go back to work if the Federal Government does not correct the alleged imbalance in the sharing formula of the about N40 billion Earned Allowance. 

The non-teaching staff in universities has alleged that the government gave ASUU about 75 per cent of the Earned Allowance, leaving 25 per cent for the other three unions — SSANU, NASU and NAAT to share. 

ASUU embarked on strike on March 23, to press home its demands which included fund for revitalisation of public universities, payment of Earned Academic Allowances, resolving salary shortfalls and state universities’ problems.

Others are visitation panels, re-constitution of the 2009 FGN-ASUU re-negotiation committee, University Transparency and Accountability Solution, UTAS, withheld salaries and non-remittance of check-off dues.

We won’t resume until FG corrects imbalance in Earned Allowances — SSANU, NAAT

Reacting to the sharing formula, National President of NAAT, Mr Ibeji Nwokomma said anyone thinking that non-teaching staff unions in the universities will resume with the recent development is day-dreaming, except the government corrects the imbalance. 

His words: “My union is rejecting the sharing formula of the Earned Allowances as it is being done presently by the government. Government has allocated 75 per cent of the money to ASUU and 25 per cent to all other non-teaching unions in the universities. That is grossly inadequate. 

“That is robbing Peter to pay Paul and using divide and rule in the university system. No union, not even ASUU has the monopoly of opening or closing of schools through strike, other unions also have the capacity to ensure that the system does not work. 

“Secondly, NAAT, ASUU and other unions negotiated with government, so payment of earned allowances will be based on unions, it should be on the basis of the 2009 Agreement; that is where the Earned Allowances is derived from. 

“So, lumping my union with other non-teaching staff is neither here nor there and totally unacceptable to us.

“We had an MoU with government, just signed on November 15, 2020, which says that government should clearly define what is supposed to go to each union and government agreed that it was going to do that and today they just shared the money anyhow they wanted without adhering to the MoU we had with government. 

“My union is asking that our own earned allowances should be specified; whatever it is should be specified just like they did to ASUU. 

“If nothing is done, we will close down the system until we are fairly treated. 

“Government should convene a meeting immediately to settle this issue; otherwise, anyone thinking that schools will reopen, is just wasting his/her time, schools will not reopen until these issues are adequately taken care of.”

He said that he is making efforts to get in touch with the Director and Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Education to draw the attention of government to the brewing crisis. 

...SSANU too

Also speaking, National President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim said that his union would not take the lopsided sharing formula.

He said: “Honestly, I believe that this remains a rumour even though I know it could be true, I have seen 75 per cent and 25 per cent. 

“But if it is true, we have stated in no uncertain terms that we will not take this kind of lopsided allocations again. What is the scientific measurement used to give out this money? We have stated before now that the least we can take is 50-50, they are not more in numbers. 

“Even if they want to do something like that, maybe this is my own personal opinion now, I may not insist on 50-50 but at least something reasonable. We have the numbers. 

“If they give, for example 60-40, do you think the noise will be there? Government does not want peace. If it is giving 75 per cent to only one union and giving 25 per cent to three unions, does it make sense? 

“Certainly, my members are more than willing to down tools if this becomes a reality.”

The new proposal’ll end strike –Ngige

Earlier, the Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige, during his press briefing after the Tuesday meeting said the ASUU executives are to have a quick consultation with their members on the new proposal presented to the union at the meeting and give feedback to the government.

According to Ngige, “the proposals are made for the enhancement of the academic institutions in the country. Also it would address the concluding part of the issues that led to the ASUU strike.

“We started on a nine-point complaint, and a lot of the complaints have been addressed. Today (Tuesday), we conclusively addressed the leftovers.”

The minister said past proposals presented to ASUU by the government have addressed other areas of concern.

“We have had very incisive deliberations. We have crossed some t’s and dotted some i’s in the past proposals given to ASUU by government, and the areas of concern have also been addressed,” he said.

Ngige further stated that the members of ASUU would appreciate the inherent benefits of the proposals to the parties involved and recognise that they were designed to add value to the academic institutions, and therefore call off their strike action.

Giving a breakdown of the N65 billion after a meeting between both parties, Ngige said the Accountant-General of the Federation had offered to release N40 billion “or in the alternative, N35 billion to be shared by all the registered trade unions in the universities after providing necessary evidence of having earned the allowance.

“The 65 billion was proposed to be shared in two different manners. First proposal, N25 billion for Revitalisation and N40 billion for Earned allowances for all the unions in the universities. While, the second proposal stated that Revitalisation will get N30 billion and Earned Allowances will get N35 billion.

The government also agreed to pay the lecturers their outstanding salaries using an old payment platform, Government GIFMIS, different from the controversial IPPIS.

Speaking on the constitution of visitation panels for public universities, Ngige said the panels would be inaugurated in the incoming week and would conclude their assignments on December 31.

“They will look at issues arising from the last 10 years in those federal universities broken down into five years compartments,” he said.

On the issue of withheld salaries, Ngige said the ministries of labour and education would review the issue of ‘no work, no pay’ as stipulated in Section 43 of the Trade Disputes Act Cap T8 laws of the Federation of Nigeria, 2004, with a view to getting approval for the withheld salaries to be paid.

“By Monday we will start the work on it, as soon as we finish because there is a transition period between the formalization of IPPIS, formalisation of UTAS.”

ASUU’s reaction

The President of ASUU, Biodun Ogunyemi, said the union executives would immediately consult with the members on the new proposals by the government.

“They have given our union some new offers that we have pledged to make immediate consultations over,” he said.

He said the union is as concerned as any other Nigerian about the problems facing Nigerian universities but that the next course of action would be determined by the National Executive Council of ASUU.

“So we are saying that with the understanding of our members, we shall get back to government within the next 24 hours to make the decision of the National Executive Council of ASUU known to the government,” he said.

...suspends strike

Ogunyemi, said that suspension of the strike was unanimously reached by National Executive Committee (NEC), after considering reports from ASUU’s National Secretariat and various branches.

Assuring that the union will fulfill its own part of the bargain, Ogunyemi however, warned that ASUU will not hesitate to resume its suspended strike if government fails to fulfill its part.

He said: “After diligent and careful appraisal of the various reports, especially the agreements reached by ASUU with the Federal Government of Nigeria on December 22, 2020, NEC resolved as follows:

“To accept the agreements reached between ASUU and the Federal Government on December 22, 2020, to consciously and diligently monitor the implementation of the FGN-ASUU Agreements of December 22, 2020, in all branches.

“To ensure that no ASUU member suffers any loss of deserved benefits as a result of participation in the strike, to pursue fervently the areas in the FGN-ASUU Agreement on 2009 and the MoA 2013 that require legislation such as the main streaming of EAA into the annual budget and the amendment of the Executive Bill in respect of the National Universities Commission, NUC Act, 2004.

“Finally, NEC resolved to conditionally suspend the strike action embarked upon on March 23, 2020, with effect from 12:01am on December 24, 2020.”

Speaking further on the union’s insistence on implementation of the 2009 agreement entered with government, Ogunyemi noted that the objectives of the agreement were found to have been made even more potent by findings of the Federal Government Committee on the Needs Assessment of Nigerian Universities in 2012.

He said the agreement when implemented would “reverse the decay in the Nigerian University System, NUS, in order to reposition it for greater responsibilities in national development.”

ASUU called of strike to avoid blackmail – Parents

Some of the parents who spoke with The Harbinger News-Magazine, including Mrs. Olaniyan and Mrs. Basirat Mohammed said that ASUU called off its nine-month strike, when it dawned on the leadership of the union that the poor economic situation in the country may not allow the government meet some of its demands.

It was gathered that after meeting various stakeholders, including the Nigerian Governors Forum, NGF and leadership of the National Assembly, the ASUU leadership was told of the dire economic constraints government is facing, which made the union mellow down.

Some of the demands by the union that required financial commitment include Earned Academic Allowances, revitalisation of the university system, upgrade of facilities among others.

Another parent, Mr. Olaniwun said in order not to be blackmailed by the government, ASUU had to accept FG proposasl.

“You can see that the Federal Government has been trying to portray the union in bad light by saying they have met all the demands of the union. Despite the fact that the demands of the union were not fully met, the government kept saying they have met those demands.

“If it was the way and manner the government’s delegation negotiated, it is nothing to write home about. Some concerned parties also stepped in and given the fact that the economy is in bad shape, the union has to make some concession”.

Wasted strike — NANS

Meanwhile, critical stakeholders in the sector, namely National Association of Nigerian Students, NANS, and National Parents Teachers Association of Nigeria, NAPTAN, have faulted the strike, saying it made no sense in the end as nothing positive came out of it.

NANS, which spoke through the South-West Coordinator, Mr Kappo Samuel, said the return on the strike was zero.

“To me, the nine months could be said to have been wasted. What are the demands they made that were met? Students just stayed at home for nine months doing nothing. Have we gained anything as a nation or that the education sector has been left better off?

“There is nothing we can say is the return on the strike. We hope that the nation will one day jettison these waste-of-time exercises. A whole year has been needlessly lost,” he said.

Govt shied away from its responsibility — NAPTAN

National President of NAPTAN, Haruna Danjuma, while expressing satisfaction that students can now go back to school, blamed government for shying away from its responsibility.

“Nobody has gained anything from the strike. Even the lecturers are frustrated. Some of them were idle for months too. Our students are worse off. Some of them may not even remember anything they have been taught. We must not allow a repeat of such waste of time,” he said.

NANS clamours for students’ involvement in future negotiations

Speaking further, NANS,  through its National President, Mr Sunday Asefon has, meanwhile, commended the Federal Government and ASUU, for reaching an agreement to end the union’s nine-month-old strike.

Asefon stated that students’ involvement in future negotiations between the Federal Government and ASUU would bring a sense of urgency to the table during such negotiations.

He said students’ involvement would also compel government and ASUU to understand the need for prompt settlement of disputes.

“I welcome this development with nostalgia. I feel very concerned that our students had to stay for nine months at home before the FG and ASUU could resolve this impasse.

“At the same time, I feel elated that the ugly days are finally over for the Nigerian students, and we can all return to our different campuses.

“Going forward, government and ASUU must find a progressive ground and alternative conflict resolution process in resolving their differences on labour actions.

“Students who seek education must not be allowed to bear the brunt of labour related issues.

“Never again should we have a repeat of this strike and stakeholders must make commitment to ensure that this ugly scenario does not repeat itself.

“Government must be committed to fulfilling its agreement with ASUU at all times, while ASUU must be wary to go on strike. “ASUU must seek to exhaust every window of alternative dispute resolution before deciding on strike,” he said.

Asefon pledged the association’s commitment to do everything possible, to ensure that the nine-month strike would be the last in the country’s tertiary education sector.

He called on ASUU to facilitate reinstatement of suspended students and their leaders, whose offences centred on dissent with management and government or expression of privately-held opinions across campuses. He commended Nigerian students for maintaining peace, maturity and restraint while the strike was on.

We wish our esteemed readers, Merry Xmas and Happy New Year.

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Rep presents bill to remove LGs as constitutionally-recognised tier of govt at Lower House

A bill for  the removal of the local government as a constitutionally recognised and funded tier of government in Nigeria is being considered in the House of Representatives. 

Sponsored by Mr Solomon Bob (PDP, Rivers), the Bill was read for the first time on  November 24, 2020, and due for second reading any time soon. 

According to its explanatory memorandum, the “Bill seeks to remove Local Government as a tier of Government in the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and vest their creation, powers and funding exclusively in the state Houses of Assembly in accordance with the principle and practice of true federalism in a culturally diverse and territorially extensive country like Nigeria.”

Speaking when contacted, Bob said, “The Bill will go some good way towards fixing the many centripetal anomalies in the 1999 constitution.” 

He said that “a federal constitution evinces power-sharing only between two tiers of government, that is, the federated states and the central government” and that local governments “are normally the babies of the federated states which are at liberty to create as many as they can fund based on their developmental goals or needs, and they’re not, and should not, be a subject for federal legislation.” 

He also said a federal constitution creating and listing local governments “gives it an air of immutability as no new ones can realistically be created for obvious reasons, while also denying the necessary flexibility to drive development and performance at that level.”

Insecurity, killings require physical, spiritual warfare —Sen Opeyemi Bamidele

Chairman, Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights and Legal Matters, Senator Opeyemi Bamidele, has expressed concern over the rising waves of kidnapping, banditry and killings in the country, saying the situation required concerted physical and spiritual warfare, to rescue the nation from the verge of collapse.

Bamidele urged Nigerians to pray against worsening insecurity in the country.

Bamidele, in his congratulatory message to Christians on the occasion of the Christmas festivities, said: “2020 has been riddled with series of odious and distasteful narratives for Nigeria. The global pandemic and the EndSARS protests hit the nation so hard, thereby adversely affecting the economic wellbeing of the people.

“Nigerians won’t forget in a hurry, the 43 farmers that were decapitated by insurgents in Zabarmari in Borno State and the 343 students abducted from Kankara Government Science College in Katsina.

“These were apart from other horrendous cases of kidnapping and killings across the geopolitical zones of our country, which makes everyone feel endangered and perceived governments as not really capable of protecting the citizens.

“The major kernel of any government is the protection of lives and property, as enunciated in the constitution, and government must display the capacity to be able to discharge this onerous duty to Nigerian citizens.

“Citizens must also complement whatever efforts the government is doing by embracing rebranding efforts and change their attitudes to life.  

“We must, as citizens, shun corrupt tendencies, criminalities and actions that would further escalate the current socio-economic woes, quaking the foundation of our nation, for our destiny lies in our hands.

“But we can’t stand spiritually strong to make supplications when we are disunited and wallow in iniquities.”

5 in Police net for killings house wife, Okada rider

Many could not hold back tears as five suspects arrested by police operatives in Ogun State narrated how they slaughtered  a 45-year- old housewife, Memunat Akinde, and a  motorcyclist, Ibikunle Ajose.

The five suspects revealed how they tied and killed the victims on the order of their boss, who is at large, before selling the body parts to  herbalist. 

The victims, Memunat and Ajose, were declared missing since last October 1.

It was gathered that Memunat, who was a fish monger, left her house at Idoleyin area of Ado-Odo Ota Local Government Area to a nearby market with the motorcyclist contracted to take her to the said market.

Surprisingly, both of them never returned home, prompting the woman’s husband to lodge a complaint at Ado-Odo Divisional Headquarters.

The case was later transferred to the anti kidnapping unit of the State Criminal Investigation and Intelligence Department on the order of the Commissioner of Police, Edward Ajogun,  who gave the team a marching order to unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of the two within the shortest possible period.

It was gathered that the intelligence and technical based investigation by the Police team paid off when one of the suspects, Okediran Monsuru,  was traced to Badagry and  apprehended.

Monsuru‘s arrest led to the apprehension of three others, namely, Ajaoba Monday, Akewusola Wajud and Nupo Pona. The four of them confessed that they were working for a notorious land grabber, who they simply identified as ”Lebo.”

The suspects

According to one of them, "we accosted both victims along the road at Abisoye village where we abducted them to an uncompleted building in a bushy area, tied their hands and legs and later called our principal on phone, informing him that we have succeeded in getting two victims.

"When Lebo came, he ordered us to slaughter the two victims. Okediran Monsuru, Ajaoba Monday and Akewusola Wajud held the victims down while Nupo Pona slaughtered them with a cutlass."

Having killed them, the fifth suspect, Dasu Sunday, herbalist later cut the two victims into pieces and loaded their parts into a sack, was invited. 

The head of the woman was later recovered at the herbalist shrine.

 The five suspects are all in police custody while a serious manhunt has been launched for their fleeing principal, Lebo.

COVID-19: Police arrest 18 violators, shut Lagos club

A popular Romeo and Juliet club in Ejigbo area of Lagos State has been shut down by the Lagos Police Command, for violating the COVID-19 directive on social gathering.  

Consequently, 18 persons were arrested at the club.  

In his remarks, the state's Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, said: “In continuation of enforcing the COVID-19 protocols which, among other, placed a total and immediate ban on clubbing, police operatives attached to Ejigbo Division, at about 11.30pm, on Tuesday, arrested 18 suspects at the Romeo and Juliet Club at NNPC junction, Ejigbo.

"The suspects will be charged to court immediately.”  

He urged Lagosians to use their face masks, saying it had become sacrosanct. 

FG shouldn’t repeat mistake of shutting borders —Gani Adams

Aare Onakakanfo of Yorubaland, Iba Gani Adams, yesterday, warned the Federal Government not to consider closing land borders as a means of addressing security challenges confronting the country.

Speaking during the second edition of Christmas Carols, organized by the Office of the Aare, Adams said that the closure did not prevent criminals from gaining access into the country, but rather caused pains to Nigerians.

His words: “Presently, prices of goods and other items usually go up during festive periods. It is the Nigerian culture to increase prices of products, especially, during these periods. But now that our borders have been reopened, there is a need for the government to allow the importation of items that can help in reducing the sufferings of ordinary citizens.  

“I am not one that will encourage importation but, at the same time, you must not close your borders. Any item you do not want in your country, you have the right to stop it from coming in, but not to close borders.

“By closing the borders you have inflicted pains on the masses that make little money every day to sustain themselves and their families. By shutting it down, we have lost a lot of money. So, I will appeal to Mr. President that such a mistake should never happen again in our history.

“I believe that factors that led to our recession are the closure of the borders, because Customs make up to N1 trillion every year and the larger chunk of the money comes from land borders. So, you lose when you close such borders.” 

Criminals plotting to attack churches, mosques in Lagos — CP

Lagos State Police Command, yesterday, disclosed that it had an intelligence report of plans by an undisclosed group to bomb religious places and government facilities during this yuletide. 

This is coming barely 24 hours after the Department of State Service, DSS, alerted Nigerians of plans by some criminal elements to launch violent attacks on public places.

Consequently, the Commissioner of Police, Lagos State Police Command, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu, said security has been beefed up around churches and mosques, including public places in the state, as part of a proactive response to checkmate any likely attempt. 

Odumosu said: “We are aware of the security alert and have taken steps to ensure that the lives and property of Lagos residents are secured.

“We are also aware that mischief-makers use such antics to cause tension. We have deployed cutting-edge technology to monitor the movement of people in and out of Lagos.”

While urging parents to warn their wards to stay away from trouble, Odumosu threatened to arrest anyone found causing mayhem in the state. Culled from Vanguard