ASUU Bemoans Rising Cost of Living as Members Groan Under Poor Salary, Welfare.

By Lucky Isibor.

Members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) University of Benin Branch on Monday bemoaned the skyrocketing cost of basic goods and services in Nigeria saying that its members are groaning under the harsh economic situation just as the federal government continue to pay the university lecturers wages that cannot guarantee their existence amidst the deteriorating standard of living in the country.

While berating the federal government for its failure to sign the 2021 agreement for implementation, the University lecturers appealed to the federal government to honour it's agreement with ASUU and prevent living the nation's educational sector from sliding further into an undesirable level of decay and dysfunction.

Speaking at the end of a special congress of ASUU held at the University of Benin main campus, Benin City, Edo state, Chairman, University of Benin Branch of ASUU, Ray Chikogu and Secretary, Success Abusomwan, further berated the federal government for paying lip service to the duty of adequately funding education and failure to fulfil its obligations to the Nigeria University system and University lecturers.

" As we speak, the federal government is yet to make good it's promise to actualize  the review of our dismal conditions, is still unwilling to pay up years of arrears of promotion entitlements, still pays lip service to the duty of adequately funding education and continues to be reluctant to deploy the already widely acclaimed University Transparency and Accountability Solution (UTAS) despite the well-publicized fraudulence, inefficiency and ineffectiveness in which the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information Service (IPPIS) is mired.

"It is unimaginable that in the face of the daily exponential increase in the cost of basic services and goods in Nigeria, University lecturers have been abandoned to grapple with the harsh realities of an abysmally poor salary structure that they had to endure for thirteen agonizing years.

"For the records, the renegotiation of the FGN-ASUU 2009 Agreement that took a while of about 4 years was eventually concluded with a draft document in May 2021 having begun in 2017, but the federal government has unscrupulously refused to sign the said document for implementation.

"Our union is deeply concerned that despite her best patriotic efforts and patient, the agents of the federal government have callously reneged on all agreements and promises on a regular basis and our members are appalled by the arrogant refusal of the federal government to deal with the issues that affect their welfare.

"We are resolved that we will not continue to be fooled by this insensitive government and we are convinced that now is the time to get the federal government once and for all, to comprehensively address all the matters related to the welfare of our members and the existence and provision of affordable University education in Nigeria. We are equally determined to take necessary steps to press home these demands.

"Nigerians should be aware that this is a critical moment in the history of education in the country as it is currently on the precipice. It is on this basis that we call on all well-meaning Nigerians, students, parents, Civil Society organisations, the press, the Nigerian Labour Congress, and other captains of Industry to prevail on the Federal Government of Nigeria to honour it's agreement with ASUU and prevent the nation's educational sector from sliding further into an undesirable level of decay and dysfunction." ASUU stated.