Gbajabiamila Never Promised FG’ll Offset Lecturers’ Salary Arrears – Reps

Spokesman of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has said that at no time did the Speaker of the House, Rt Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, promise that the Federal Government will offset salary arrears owed to the members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU.
It would be recalled that ASUU’s last circle of strikes which started on February 14, 2022 dragged on till October 14, 2022 when it was eventually called off.
During the time, the leadership of the House led by Gbajabiamila brokered a series of meetings and negotiations between ASUU and the Federal Government to resolve the 8 month old industrial action.
However, in a statement on Wednesday, the House Spokesman said that ASUU President, Professor Emmanuel Osedeke in a report attacked Gbajabiamila, accusing him of hoodwinking the union to call off the strike on the basis that their salary arrears would be paid.
He said: “On Tuesday, 27th December 2022, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, granted an interview accusing the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila, of using deception to convince the union to call off its strike action.
“He specifically alleged that the Speaker failed to deliver on his written commitment that the government would, without delay, offset the arrears of salaries owed to members of the union for the time they were on strike.
“For the record, at no point did the Speaker of the House of Representatives commit to offsetting the arrears of salaries owed to union members for the time they were on strike.  The House of Representatives helped to resolve the strike by making commitments to improve the welfare package of university lecturers and revitalisation funds to improve the infrastructure and operations of federal universities.  These commitments are reflected in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes one hundred and seventy billion naira (N170,000,000,000.00) to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers and additional three hundred billion naira (N300,000,000,000.00) in revitalisation funds.
“Furthermore, the House of Representatives continues to work with stakeholders; the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).  This effort is being supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.
“Professor Emmanuel Osodeke knows that the Federal Government of Nigeria is under no obligation to pay university lecturers’ salaries for the duration they were on strike.  This is a settled matter in law.  See S. 43(1)(a) Trade Disputes Act, Cap T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN).  The Executive decision not to pay salaries to lecturers for the time spent on strike is warranted by the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and discouraging disruptive industrial actions.  Nonetheless, the Speaker has made interventions for an exemption in this regard, and Professor Osodeke is well aware of this.”