The Federal Government has initiated the process of disbursing previously withheld salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), as reported by Punch. This development was confirmed by Prof. Gbolahan Bolarin, the ASUU chairperson at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, who stated, “Yes, it is true. Payment has started rolling in.”
This move comes after President Bola Tinubu, in October 2023, sanctioned the release of four out of the eight months’ worth of salaries that were withheld from ASUU members. The withholding of these salaries occurred during the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari, who enforced a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy. This policy was applied to various university-based unions, including ASUU, which had undertaken a strike action that extended for eight months in 2022. The commencement of these payments marks a significant development in the ongoing dialogue between the government and academic staff unions, aiming to resolve issues that have previously led to industrial actions within the nation’s tertiary education sector.
