The Speaker of the Nigerian House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, has indicated that the Federal Government may not fully pay university lecturers for the total duration of their strike.
In a statement issued on Monday by the Speaker, he said the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), was being awaited to approve the proposal of “partial” payment presented to him.
The statement titled, ‘Statement by the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila on the Resolution of Outstanding Issues between the Academic Staff Union of Universities and the Federal Government of Nigeria,’ it read, “When the Academic Staff Union of Universities called off their industrial action three weeks ago, it meant that academic activities could resume in our nation’s public universities, and students could return to their academic pursuits after the prolonged interruption. This decision was rightly heralded nationwide as the correct decision.
“Since then, the Executive and the House of Representatives have worked to address the issues that led to the strike. We are currently working on the 2023 Appropriations Bill, which includes the sum of N170,000,000,000 to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers. The bill also includes additional N300,000,000,000 in revitalization funds to improve the infrastructure and operations of federal universities.
“Furthermore, the House of Representatives has convened the Accountant General of the Federation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities and other stakeholders to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System. This effort is being supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman.
Finally, Gbajabiamila urged all citizens and stakeholders to participate in “this crucial effort to reinvent our public tertiary institutions into respected citadels of learning.”