FROM IKHILI EBALU, BENIN CITY
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, Ambrose Alli University, AAU, Ekpoma chapter has described a report on the reinstatement of several unpaid staff into the payroll as not only misleading, provocative and deceptive, but also wicked.
The university authorities had on the November 6 edition of the school’s news bulletin claimed, among others, that the names of removed staff had been reinstated into the payroll and receiving owed salaries spanning several months.
A joint statement signed by the Chairman and Assistant Secretary, Dr Cyril Onogbosele and Dr William Odion, respectively, stated that the story was a ploy by the Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Samuel Olowo and the Dr Frank Odafen-led Governing Council to conceal and sustain the victimisation of several staff and the unjust denial of their salaries by the administration of former Governor Godwin Obaseki and the dissolved Special Intervention Team, SIT.
The union maintained that as at this month, many academic staff who are ASUU members have not been paid their monthly salaries up to 34 months, despite several memoranda to the university authorities and the governing council.
“Painfully, there are neither cases of misconduct against the affected staff nor are there trials for violations of the university’s rules and regulations to warrant such treatment. It is dehumanising, unjust and evil for the university administration to deny innocent academic staff of their salaries for almost three years,” it stated.
The union insisted that the affected staff perform their duties, which include teaching, research and community service, and also carry out statutory responsibilities.
On the stoppage of deductions and remittance of ASUU membership dues, the union leaders expressed dissatisfaction over the reluctance of the authorities to restore the money stopped in March 2022 during the tenure of the former Acting Vice Chancellor, Professor Sonnie Adagbonyin.
It disclosed that the university administration was in default of remitting deducted dues to ASUU for 15 months from September 2020 to December 2020, and January 2021 to November 2021, with an amount not less than N27 million.
The union also described the claim by the authorities that there was proper constitution of the governing council and that elections were held to fill vacant positions in compliance with the relevant laws, as a fallacy.
As a way of resolving the lingering problem in the institution, the union implored the authorities to toe the path of truth, sincerity, justice and fairness.
