The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has expressed dissatisfaction over the Federal Government’s treatment of the educational sector.
The union also declared that there is no going back on its planned strike action unless the government meets with its demands.
Addressing Journalists on Tuesday at the end of the union’s zonal meeting held at the Federal University of Agriculture, Abeokuta (FUNAAB), Abeokuta, Ogun State, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Lagos Zone, Adelaja Odukoya tackled the FG over allowances of members of the National Assembly, who he said reportedly “earn between N1.5million and N1.3million monthly” to detriment of Professors, who receive N416, 000 monthly as take-home.
Odukoya accused the Federal Government of deliberately impoverishing university lecturers by its refusal to implement the Memorandum of Action (MoA) signed with the union in 2020.
He lamented the poor remuneration of teaching staff while noting that some lecturers had been turned to farmers and taxi drivers.
Reading the statement titled, “Our pay cannot take us home: End poverty-wage now”, the coordinator said:
“We have always insisted that the cost of governance in this country is too high and nobody is doing anything about it and to increase the salary of lecturers is now a problem for the government”.
“This is happening against the background of the public admission by the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan only yesterday that a Senator earns N1.5 million while a member of the House of Representatives earns N1.3m per month.
“It will shock you to know that for most of us outside Lagos, we engage in farming to survive, while some of us in Lagos engage in ‘kabukabu’ (taxi driving) and other menial jobs because our salary can no longer take us home.
“Regrettably, with 9 days to the one year anniversary of the suspension of our last strike and signing of the 2020 MoA (Memorandum of Actions), the government has adamantly and most shamefully refused, failed and neglected to do what was freely agreed to between us.
“It is clear that the Federal government by its lamentable actions and condemnable inactions is adding fuel to an already combustible situation.”
