Nigeria’s federal government has said it will spend N34 billion to pay arrears of Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustments in the education sector effective from 2019.
This is one of the the moves aimed at ending the ongoing strike action embarked on by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
This was disclosed by Chris Ngige, minister of labour and employment on Tuesday while speaking with newsmen about ongoing negotiations with the lecturers.
According to the minister, Minimum Wage Consequential Adjustments beneficiaries include members of the striking ASUU and their counterparts in the polythechnics and Colleges of Education.
Ngige stated that universities will receive N23.5 billion, the polythechnics N6 billion and the Colleges of Education N4 billion, bringing the total sum to N33.5 billion.
He also disclosed that Committees have been set up during the last meeting based on this and a report is expected to be released soon.
“Those committees are working. The one on NITDA is testing the three platforms, the government’s Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS).
“Also the University Transparency Accountability Solution (UTAS) of ASUU and the Universities Peculiar Personnel Payroll System (UPPPS) of the non-teaching staff,” he said.
“They have started the testing last Thursday. The National Salaries, Wages and Incomes Commission (NSWIC) has issued their amendment circulars.
“The unions also have copies to take care of responsibility and hazard allowances wherever it has not been properly captured.”
Ngige assured that there might likely be wage adjustments as the government intensified efforts to streamline wages through the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission.
“For example, we have done for police . It wasn’t envisaged that we should do it in pockets. But you can see that police has been done.
“You can also see university teachers saying that their own should be done immediately since we have done police. So, something is being done. It was part of the 2009 negotiation they had with the government then.
“So, the committee of Prof. Briggs is on it, discussing with the university unions and their employer, the Federal Ministry of Education. They will bring up something for government to see,“ he added