Three University unions have opposed the sharing formula adopted for the N40 billion approved by the Federal Government as Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) in agreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
The unions are – the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities, (SSANU); Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
This follows the conditional suspension of a nine months old strike by the academic staff on Wednesday.
They accused the government of allocating about 75 per cent of the N40 billion EAA to ASUU, leaving the three other unions with only 25 per cent to share among their members.
National President of NAAT Ibeji Nwokomma said anyone thinking that the non-teaching staff unions in the universities would resume with the recent development was day-dreaming
Nwokoma said: “My union is rejecting the sharing formula of the Earned Allowances as it is being done by the government. Government has allocated 75 per cent to ASUU and 25 per cent to all other non-teaching unions in the universities. This is grossly inadequate.
“That is robbing Peter to pay Paul and using divide and rule in the university system. No union, not even ASUU, has the monopoly of opening or closing of schools through strike. Other unions also have that capacity to ensure that the system does not work.
National President of SSANU, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, said his union would not take the lopsided sharing formula.
He said, ”…We have stated in no uncertain terms that we will not take this kind of lopsided allocations again because what is the scientific measurement used to give this money. We have stated before now that the least we can take is 50-50, they are not more in numbers.”
