ASUU strike: Universities won’t be exempted from TSA, FG insists

The Federal Government on Thursday insisted that the request by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) that federal universities be exempted from the Treasury Single Account (TSA) will not be granted.

This comes as the government has agreed to release the balance of N23billion Earned Allowances to the striking lecturers.

Education Minister, Adamu Adamu, stated this on Thursday in Abuja at a meeting with the Senate Committee on Tertiary Education and TETFUND.

The Minister pointed out that the Ministry of Finance has promised to undertake a forensic audit of the N30billion allowance earlier released to the lecturers, bringing the total to N53billion.

“They (lecturers) asked for N23billion to be paid. But we said the condition for that N23billion to be released was for them to account for the N30billion they had taken, which is a total of N53billion. And they were not able to account for it.

“The Minister of Finance undertook to do the audit from the ministry. And we agreed that the result will be known in six months. During that six months, government undertook to be paying them N1.5billion each month during the time they are waiting for this”, Adamu told the committee.

He said the Ministry of Finance has already approved the release of the funds but not yet cash backed. “Probably, by Monday, they will be able to receive the cheque. And we will do forensic audit on the entire N53billion”, he assured.

On Monday, ASUU, an umbrella body of all university lecturers in Nigeria, declared an indefinite strike over Federal Government’s failure to fulfill the 2009/2013 Agreement made with the Union.

Among the issues in current disputes involved in the Agreement are: funding for the revitalization of public universities, earned academic allowances, registration of Nigerian universities pension management company, university staff school, fictionalisation and non-payment of salaries among others.

While expressing optimism that the industrial action would be called off within the next one week, the Minister said the request for TSA exemption would not be granted.

He added: “There are other issues which we didn’t agree. And that was their request to be taken out of TSA. I told them that it is not possible because this is a new policy and government is not going to change it for anyone”.

On the registration of Nigerian universities pension management company, he said this would be resolved with the Pension Commission in the next one week.

On the non-payment of salaries, he attributed it to the decision of federal universities to illegally recruit staff, without recourse to the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS).

This,  he said, has partially affected government’s effort to eliminate thousands of ghost workers through thorough personnel verification exercise and salary payment process.

“For instance, a university can just decide to go and recruit 50 people. And IPPIS is not aware. So, what they are going to get is they are going to get the money they got last month. And it will not be sufficient for them. They normally spread it among the entire staff. Let’s say they pay 70 percent to 80 percent but that is their fault. So, institutions, we said, must now stop doing that. And they accepted”, Adamu noted.

On his part, Chairman of the committee, Barau Jubril, expressed confidence that the minister would resolve the issues with the striking lecturers and soon as possible.

The lawmaker pleaded with the lecturers to call off the strike while negotiation continues.

The Union was not represented at the meeting.

 

OWEDE AGBAJILEKE, Abuja