N22.1bn allowance: Varsity workers begin protest over sharing formula

Nigerian University Senior Staff Association and the Union of Non-academic Education and Related Organizations, university staff will begin a three-day national protest on Wednesday to protest the federal government’s commitment to the sharing formula of the 22.1 billion income allowance.

PUNCH reported that the federal government has pledged to pay a total of 22.17 billion naira for the staff of the Federal University.

The formula for the allocation of funds among university faculty unions, SSANU and NASU members has been controversial.

The instructions to start the protest and end on Friday were included in the notice to all the NASU and SSANU branch chairpersons.

The notice signed by NASU Secretary-General Peters Adeyemi; Muhammed Ibrahim, SSANU’s national chairman, wrote in part:

“The National Joint Action committee of NASU and SSANU held a zoom meeting on Monday November 8, 2021 to review the latest development in our universities and inter university centres.

“We have decided that all our branches should mandatorily call a general meeting of NASU and SSANU on Wednesday, November 10, 2021 and from there commence a three-day protest from Wednesday, November 10, 2021 to Friday, November 12, 2021.

“The protest should be centred on the proposed provocative sharing formula to be used for the next tranche of N22.17 billion to be released by the Federal government at the rate of 75 percent to academic and 25 percent to non-teaching staff.

“It should also be centred on the refusal of the Federal government to pay the arrears of the minimum wage consequential agreement as at the last meeting with the Federal Government on August 26, 2021.”

The leaders demand that the protests should be carried out on campus, and each branch should determine the daily activities of the protests.