N23bn grant: Sharing formula tears varsity workers apart
.JAC faults FG’s template on percentage, insists on parity
.ASUU disagrees, vows to go on strike in 24 varsities
Serious crisis has hit 24 Nigerian universities following a disagreement between the respective university unions on the percentage sharing formula to be adopted in the disbursement of the N23 billion recently released to the institutions as earned academic allowances by the Federal Government.
The Daily Times exclusive investigation revealed that members of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), representing the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and National Association of University Technicians (NAUT) are fiercely engaged in disagreement with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) over the percentage ‘’sharing formula’’ to be adopted for the money which has already been ’’cash backed’’ and released into the TSA account of the respective universities.
Our investigation further revealed that the main plank for the raging disagreement was hinged on the refusal of the JAC to recognise the template already provided by the Federal Government through the office of the Accountant General of the Federation via a letter dated November 17, and addressed to the Vice Chancellors of the concerned universities, which stated a percentage sharing ratio of 30% to JAC and 70% to ASUU.
It was further gathered that the development might lead to another strike in the 24 federal universities if the contentious issues are not properly handled by the stakeholders.
Musa Shallangwa, the University of Abuja (UniAbuja) chapter chairman of SSANU and spokesman of the JAC, told The Daily Times that the absence of a template for the sharing of the largesse necessitated the setting up of a joint negotiating committee by the management of the institution to find an acceptable sharing formula.
He said: ’’We have just been inaugurated by the management to find a solution to the problem. ASUU attended the meeting and right now everyone is bent on finding a solution’’.
Also when contacted, the Chairman of the UNIABUJA chapter of ASUU, Dr. Ben Ugheoke, said the union sought and obtained clarification on the issue of a sharing template from the office of the Accountant General of the Federation, and therefore dismissed the claim that there was no template.
He advised other unions to rather accept the division already made by government in good faith, since according to him, the money has already been partitioned.
He said: ’’We don’t have issues with the JAC. We only attended the meeting to reaffirm our position, and the unions should rather approach the government if they are having grudges’’.
The Daily Times recalls that the Federal Ministry of Education had through a letter dated October 30, 2017 requested the Accountant General of the Federation to release the sum of N23billion to be paid to the teaching and non-teaching staff of universities, maintaining it was a fallout of the indefinite strike embarked upon by the unions.
Augustine Okezie, Abuja
