It doesn’t make sense that striking lecturers should continue to be paid – Nwajiuba

Minister of state for education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba, has stated that it doesn’t make sense for members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to continue to earn salaries while on strike.

The union commenced a one-month warning strike on February 14, 2022, and since then has not suspended its industrial action.

He said this in a telephone interview with PUNCH on Sunday. According to him; “The lecturers have continued to earn salaries while on strike; it doesn’t make sense to earn salaries when you have refused to work.

“If you refuse to even pay them, by the time they call off the strike, they will still come back to fight for the payment of the period they refused to work.

“You can air your grievances, come to the negotiation table without refusing to work. The issue of the strike has become a thing of concern. I have four children; two have graduated while the other two are still in public universities. I feel for them, I feel for other students who are at home. I feel the same way other parents feel, but can I bring money from my house and give it to ASUU?

“The Ministry of Education isn’t the employer of the lecturers, we are a supervisory body, and there is no way we can fire or hire someone. Universities have governing councils that supervise the activities that go on, our job as in the ministry is to supervise, we can’t meddle in.

“On the issue of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System, I am also paid via the IPPIS, it is owned by the government, there is no way you can tell the government to throw away its platform and pay you with another platform.”