By Ikhili Ebalu, Benin City
There are indications that workers in Ambrose Alli University, AAU, Ekpoma will celebrate the Christmas in hunger, pains and tears due to non-payment of salaries to many of them by the UniversityManagement.
Aljazera Nigera Investigations have revealed that majority of the workers have not been paid salaries for a period of eleven (11) months (January 2022-November 2022).What members of staff in the University have experienced-in these past months is selective payment of salaries.
A release issued and signed by the chairman Of ASUU , AAU Ekpoma branch, Dr. Cyril Oziegbe Onogbosele, and Secretary Dr. William Odion, said workers in the institution have not been paid months of salaries.
According to ASUU, “ staff of the University have not been tried or found guilty of any misconduct or offence to warrant the current ill-treatment being meted out to them by the University Management. “It is just display of glaring impunity by the University Management”, they alleged.
“From the initial non-payment or denial of salaries of staff, the problem has metamorphosed to include selectivepayment of salaries for no just reasons”,
The Union academic staff also disclosed that there is confusion over payment-of salaries in relation to misinformation of the general public and Edo State Government by the University Management over the matter.
ASUU queried , “How can they (University Management) tell the public or government that they are not owing workers salaries when many staff are not being paid”.
It is also alleged that the duties/responsibilities of the University’s Bursary Division on payment of salaries of staff have be usurped by the Special Intervention Team (SIT) that dictates who should be paid or not and that this is responsible for the denial of payment of salaries to majority of the staff.
According to ASUU, It is laughable and deceptive for the State Government to claim that it has paid the salaries of workers (including pensioners) in the state up to December 2022 when workers in AAU, Ekpoma are being owed several months of salaries by the University Administration/Edo State Government.
Stakeholders are worried that the University is not running smoothly due to many visible aberrations in terms of the administration of the University. They have also pointed out the fact that the persistence of the salary crisis is due to the UniversityManagement’s/SIT’s non-compliance with Edo State Government’s earlier directive issued on 8th June, 2022 that all staff should be paid all outstanding salaries.
ASUU said,”If the salary crisis is not resolved before the end of December2022, workers’ frustration, anger and possible resistancemay complicate the already bad situation in the University.”
Aljazera Nigera recalls that the Honourable Speaker of Edo State House of Assembly at a stakeholders’ meeting over the crisis in the University recently, claimed to have resolved the crisis of non-payment of outstanding salaries of staff in the University. However, the current situation in the University does not indicate compliance of the UniversityManagement with the resolutions at that meeting.
Many Stakeholders have attributed the complication of the crisis in the University to the arbitrariness and highhandedness of some authorities in the University.
The University branch of ASUU rose from congress on Wednesday this week at Ekpoma and described the crisis of salary in the University as a weapon of hunger to cow workers, humiliate them and force them to submit to theSpecial Intervention Team (SIT). They described the current situation in the University as unhealthy for thewellbeing of the University.