by Nurat Uthman
Members of the University of Jos Chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), has organised a peaceful protest over the non implementation of agreement it reached with the Federal Government.
Prof. Jurbe Molwus, Chairperson of the union in the University led the protest on Tuesday in Jos.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that members of the union took the protest to the office of the Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Tanko Ishaya.
Presenting the union’s demands to the vice chancellor, Molwus, represented by his vice, Prof. Kiri Jaryum, said that the protest was in line with the directive of its National Executive Council (NEC).
”This peaceful protest is in line the 14-day ultimatum issued by our NEC, calling on the Federal Government to honour the agreement reached with it a long time ago.
”We are particularly calling on the federal goverment to pay the balance of the earned academic allowance, unpaid and withheld salaries arrears of our members, which are all captured in the 2023 budget.
”Government should also check the proliferation of universities in the country and remove universities from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), among others.
”As we speak, university lecturers have been on the same salary structure for 15 years and that’s very bad for the university system,”he said.
Molwus called on the vice chancellor to transmit the demands to the federal government for immediate action.
Responding, the vice chancellor commended members of the union for conducting themselves peacefully during the protest.
He particularly thanked them for not disrupting the ongoing examination and other academic activities in the university
Tanko, who described the demands by the union as genuine, promised to transmit them to the government.
NAN reports that a cross section of students of the university, led by the President of the Student Union Government, Sambo Peter, joined the lecturers for the protest.
