The Academic Staff Union of Universities,
The Academic staff of the Ekiti State University (EKSU) has raised alarm over their unpaid salaries, which is running into the ninth months now.
The lecturers, under the aegis of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, (ASUU) said it would no longer cooperate with the university authority, as the situation had gone so dire that it is affecting the lives of its members.
ASUU chairman of the institution, Kayode Arogundade, told journalists in Ado Ekiti on Friday that the geometric increase in the university’s expenditure from N380 million to N502 million caused the institution to default.
“The academic community of the university has become a source of scorn, ridicule, and victim of embarrassment from the members of the larger society, owing largely to inability to live up to their family expectations. We view this with serious concerns, more so that the university has not shown enough commitment to staff welfare.
“ASUU as a matter of urgency and civility impresses it on the management to pay up all the nine months outstanding salary of workers with immediate effect”, he said.
Arogundade warned that except the university pay up all salaries, the union would no longer guarantee good working relationship between its members and the vice chancellor, Professor Eddy Olanipekun, who is a former ASUU chairman in EKSU and Ilorin zone.
The ASUU boss urged governor Kayode Fayemi to implement the resolution of the Professor Bode Asubiojo-led visitation panel, which addressed issues of tax, wage bill, and other academic issues in the university.
He said the union will not contemplate dragging the state government to court for implementing the new tax law in the university, since its members have been paying taxes above what was stipulated by the personal income tax 2011.
He added: “It surprises us that the university is owing nine months salary when we are being owed four months subvention. We found out that it was because the wage bill has increased to N502 million when the subvention is N260m. The shortfall comes from our IGR, which will be difficult for the university to meet monthly.
“We won’t issue empty threat but when we are ready, we will strike. The VC understands our language. We won’t care to take them to court for interpretation. We are paying higher than what was contained in the tax law. The government must look inwards and increase the IGR rather than saying we should go back to 2018 tax law that will create more burdens.
“If the government found it comfortable to implement new tax law, they should also implement the white paper’s recommendations on increased wage bill”, he stated.