By Busari Kabirat
The Yusuf Maitama University’s Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU), has made it known that the crisis with the Kano State Government hasn’t been resolved as the Union accused the government of neglecting its demands.
This was made known on Wednesday, in a jointly signed statement by the Branch Chairman and the Secretary, Comrade Mansur Said and Comrade Yusuf Ahmed Gwarzo, respectively, whereby mentioning three vital issues bothering its members and was forced to mention the issues to the general public, following several attempts to make the state government understand and attend to their demands failed.
ASUU in a written statement, ‘’Condition of Service: The branch demands the immediate payment of the outstanding Earned Academic Allowance (EAA), totalling one hundred and seventy-eight million, seven hundred and five thousand, seven hundred and thirty-five naira and ninety-one kobo (N178,705,735.91) only.
“The general public may wish to note that recently the Union reached an agreement with KNSG in which it promised to pay this sum in four instalments starting from April 2024. However, to our dismay, there has been no release for the first instalment to date.
“The Union also demands the payment of the outstanding Consequential Adjustment Arrears, which stand at one hundred and eleven million, three hundred and twenty-one thousand, seven hundred and ninety-two naira; eighteen kobo (N111,321,792.18) only.’
’Furthermore, the Union is requesting the implementation of the newly-approved Consolidated Universities Academic Salary Structure II (CONUASS II), with an effective date set for January 1, 2023. Gentlemen of the press, this salary increase has already been implemented in ALL Federal Universities. We communicated this to KNSG, but there has not been any positive response regarding implementation.
‘’Lastly, in relation to the conditions of service, the Union requests the payment of a provisional Wage Award of N35,000 for six months, approved by the Federal Government.
“The general public may wish to know that civil servants of the state were already paid this provisional award by the KNSG for two months. However, the members of our Union and supporting staff in the university are yet to receive a single kobo.
‘’University Funding: Furthermore, we request the Government to expedite action towards completing ongoing projects by the state government. We also request the State government to supplement TETFUND funding for academic staff training.
“The branch observes that funding has been a major challenge for the University since its inception, as budgetary appropriations for capital projects have never been fully released; THE BUDGETARY PERFORMANCE WAS JUST 46% IN 2023. We implore the Visitor to improve University funding.
’University Autonomy and Academic Freedom: The Union urgently calls for the reconstitution of the University Governing Council. We emphasize the strategic importance, as per the law, of the University Governing Council and the extent to which its absence undermines the University administration.’’
