Payment of withheld salaries, minimum wage, IPPIS replacement, N50bn earned allowances top SSANU’s fresh demand from FG

<p>Stories by Christian Appolos | Abuja</p>, <p>The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has renewed its call on the Federal Government to urgently pay the four months withheld salaries owed its members in the interest of industrial harmony in the country’s tertiary education sector.</p>, <p>SSANU also placed premium on its call for renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/SSANU agreement, replacement of IPPIS, payment of minimum wage to some federal universities, release of N50 billion for the payment of outstanding earned allowance, reinstatement of the dissolved governing board of federal universities and an end to the infringement on the autonomy of universities by the Office of the Head of Service.</p>, <p>SSANU’s demands are contained in a communiqué signed by its national president, Comrade Mohammed H. Ibrahim, at the end of its 44th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held in Umuahia, Abia State.</p>, <p>The union also frowned on non-inclusion of SSANU as a critical stakeholder in the decision making and implementation of education-related national policies such as the recent Students Loan.</p>, <p>The communiqué read, “Let it be known to the government that our members are yet to recover from the effect of the hardship caused by the withholding of their four months salaries and may not recover from it unless government does something about it.</p>, <p>“NEC-in-session views the government’s posture and position on the matter as unfair and unfortunate. We are well aware that salaries for those months were prepared and, therefore, call on the government to urgently pay the arrears of our members’ withheld salaries without further delay.</p>, <p>“Acknowledging the demise of the chairman of the government team, Professor Nimi D. Briggs, NEC-in-session calls on the government to, as a matter of urgency, reconstitute a new committee for the renegotiation of the SSANU/FGN 2009 agreement as the issue is long overdue.</p>, <p>“SSANU has earnestly offered itself for the renegotiation process to comme