Lecturers reject FG’s loan, demand payment of outstanding arrears

The National Association of Academic Technologists on Wednesday knocked the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, over the Tertiary Institutions Staff Support Fund, a Federal Ministry of Education and TETFund-funded programme.

The union in a statement by its national president, Ibeji Nwokoma said after it carefully perused the document on TISSF loan.

It viewed it as a distraction, and, “therefore rejects it and wish to make it categorically clear that her members do not need a loan that will perpetually enslave them as it amounts to taking their salaries in advance since there are NAAT cooperatives to take care of the short-term financial needs of members.”

The union said the government should rather release payment of all outstanding arrears legitimately earned by its members, which include payment of the three and a half months of withheld salaries, payment of seven (7) months arrears of Occupational Hazard Allowance and release of third-party deductions for the two months of withheld salaries that were paid.

The union further demanded for, “payment of 11 months arrears of Responsibility Allowance, payment of 12-month arrears of 25% & 35% salary increase, payment of 4-month arrears of wage award, payment of arrears of the N30,000 Minimum Wage to omitted NAAT members (implemented in 2019) as well as the release of supplementary funds to pay the outstanding claims of Eamed Allowances of NAAT members.

On the purported revocation of University of Abuja land by the Minister of the FCT, NAAT strongly condemned what it described as the “unilateral and arbitrary action of the Minister, as it violates the Laws governing the University, which requires amendment by the National Assembly for the action to be legally valid.”

NAAT emphasised that the land is not just an asset that can be disposed of at will, but a national treasure belonging to the Institution.

“This land has been specifically allocated to support future expansion in Research Centres, new academic programmes, as well as an increase in students population and the need for additional hostel accommodations.

“Moreover, the decision to revoke the land was taken without proper consideration of the University’s masterplan, which will cause major distortions in its implementation by limiting any expansion to only four thousand hectares of land,” the union said.

NAAT further appealed to the Federal Government to use the TSSIF funds to settle the outstanding claims of NAAT members and also call on the National Assembly, particularly committees on tertiary education and TETFund of the Senate and House of Representatives, to call the Minister to order to reverse the purported revocation in the interest of national development.