By Agboola Bayo
Ibadan
Uneasy calm is now looming in the nation’s public university campuses as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) holds its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting this week.
Investigations by Blueprint revealed that ASUU NEC, being the highest decision making body of the union, is to review federal government implementation of the Memorandum of Action (MoA) it signed with it before it suspended its strike a few months ago.
ASUU sources stressed that, as at present, federal government was yet to implement issuance of license for the registration of Nigerian University Pension Company (NUPEMCO), which it promised to do within two weeks of strike suspension.
There were fears of ASUU resuming its suspended strike based on information that the federal government was yet to pay the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) of lecturers which was supposed to have been paid in October; as lecturers are agitated over the silence on the part of government and its leadership, particularly as government had not paid as promised by end of October.
Already, the ASUU President, Prof Biodun Ogunyemi, has sent a mail to all ASUU members to douse the tension over the payment of earned academic allowances, saying, “Dear Comrades, the leadership of the union is aware of the palpable tensions on our campuses over the delay in the payment of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
Sources close to ASUU hinted that the federal government audit teams have visited campuses and concluded the auditing of staff as agreed but was yet to pay the N23billion promised by the end of October as payment for the 2009/2010 Earned Academic Allowances of lecturers in public universities in Nigeria.
A top ASUU chieftain confided in our man that the NEC of the union will review the implementation of the memorandum of action and jointly take a decision on it.
