Gbajabiamila Didn’t Promise To Pay Salary Arrears – Reps Tell ASUU
The House of Representatives has reacted to the claim made by Prof Emmanuel Osodeke, President of the Academic Staff Union of Universities, that the Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabiamila, tricked the union into calling off the strike.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, House spokesperson Ben Kalu stated that the speaker never guaranteed the lecturers payment of arrears.
It should be noted that the intervention of the House resulted in the cancellation of the lecturers’ eight-month strike.
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.
Read Also: Gbajabiamila Deceived Us To Call Off Strike – ASUU
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.”
