The House of Representatives has responded to the allegation by the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, that the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila deceived the union to call off the strike.
The spokesperson of the House, Ben Kalu, in a statement made available to IGBERE TV on Wednesday, said the speaker never promised the lecturers payment of arrears.
It would be recalled that the intervention by the House had led to the call-off of the eight months strike by the lecturers.
In addition, the National Industrial Court had mandated ASUU to suspend the strike. And the government also insisted on the no-work-no-pay policy.
Prof Osodeke had, during an interview on Tuesday, said Gbajabiamila failed to keep to the agreement reached with the union.
Responding to the allegation, Kalu said at “no point did the Speaker of the House of Representatives commit to offset the arrears of salaries owed to union members for the time they were on strike.”
He said the commitments by the House are reflected in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes N170 billion to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers and an additional N300 billion in revitalisation funds.
Kalu, therefore, accused the ASUU President of “bad-faith approach to negotiations”, adding that “his affinity for political brinkmanship are significant reasons the universities were on strike for so long.”
He said: “On Tuesday, 27th December 2022, the President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, granted an interview accusing the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rep Femi Gbajabiamila, of using deception to convince the union to call off its strike action.
“He specifically alleged that the Speaker failed to deliver on his written commitment that the government would, without delay, offset the arrears of salaries owed to members of the union for the time they were on strike.
“For the record, at no point did the Speaker of the House of Representatives commit to offset the arrears of salaries owed to union members for the time they were on strike.
“The House of Representatives helped resolve the strike by making commitments to improve the welfare package of university lecturers and revitalization funds to improve the infrastructure and operations of federal universities.
“These commitments are reflected in the 2023 Appropriation Bill, which includes N170 billion to provide a level of increment in the welfare package of university lecturers and an additional N300 billion in revitalization funds.
“Furthermore, the House of Representatives continues to work with stakeholders; the Accountant General of the Federation (AGF) and the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to facilitate the adoption of elements of the University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) into the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).
“This effort is being supervised by the Chairman of the House Committee on Tertiary Education, Rep. Aminu Suleiman,” he explained.
“He argued that “Professor Emmanuel Osodeke knows that the Federal Government of Nigeria is under no obligation to pay university lecturers’ salaries for the duration they were on strike. This is a settled matter in law. See S. 43(1)(a) Trade Disputes Act, Cap T8, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria (LFN).
“The Executive decision not to pay salaries to Lecturers for the time spent on strike is warranted by the government’s legitimate interest in preventing moral hazard and discouraging disruptive industrial actions.
“Nonetheless, the Speaker has made interventions for an exemption in this regard, and Professor Osodeke is well aware of this.
“The public interest in ensuring a well-functioning tertiary education sector is a matter of paramount concern for all who understand the transformational role of education in any society.
“For this reason, the 9th House of Representatives has been consistent in our efforts to explore avenues for reform and improvement to the framework of public education in the country from basic education through tertiary.
“Our objectives in this regard will not be achieved when stakeholders choose to ignore substantive issues and the consideration of bold ideas in favor of cheap blackmail and immoral propaganda.
“Professor Osodeke’s bad-faith approach to negotiations and his affinity for political brinkmanship are significant reasons the universities were on strike for so long. His ongoing interventions continue to threaten the progress being made to preclude the possibility of further disruptions to the academic calendar of the universities.
“Therefore, I call on him, in his capacity as President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), to desist from making further misleading statements against the House of Representatives and the Speaker, Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila.
“There is no place for belligerence and selfish agitation in this critical moment. This is the time for calm heads and steady hands, working together for the common good,” the House
Spokesperson urged.
