ASUU rejects govt’s wage award, demands negotiated settlement

Nigeria’s university lecturers’ union, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has rejected a recent wage award of N35,000 proposed by the federal government.

ASUU president, Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, made this stance known during the inauguration of the Ibadan branch of the union’s secretariat, on Thursday

Osodeke emphasized that ASUU was calling for a negotiated salary increase, not a government-imposed award, and clarified that while the union has accepted payments made into their accounts, this should not be misconstrued as accepting the proposed wage.

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The ASUU president highlighted several outstanding issues with the government, including the renegotiation of existing salary agreements, the disbursement of withheld salaries and earned allowances, and the release of funds allocated for university improvement projects.

“We told them we should negotiate our wage, but they said we are giving you an award of N35,000; we have told them that it is not our own,” said Mr Osodeke. “We still insist that there has to be a negotiated salary.”

This development suggests a potential escalation of tensions between ASUU and the government. The union has a history of resorting to strike actions to press its demands, which significantly disrupts academic activities in Nigerian universities.

It remains unclear how the government will respond to ASUU’s rejection of the wage award. Negotiations between the two parties are likely to continue in the coming days and weeks.

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