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The Nasarawa State University Branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities has urged the State Government to begin the payment of over N600,000,000 Earned Academic Allowance owed lecturers of the institution to avert looming breakdown of industrial harmony.
Chairman of ASUU of the school, Professor Samuel Alu made the call during a peaceful protest in Keffi, Nasarawa State on Wednesday.
The protest by the lecturers was said to disrupt academic and official activities temporarily at the university.
The lecturers, through the protest, called on the attention of the federal and state governments to commence the implementation of agreements reached with the union in 2019.
Coming out en-masse, they converged on the university’s assembly hall and marched to the main gate displaying placards with comments such as “Save the Ivory Towers from Total Collapse,” “We Say No to Enslavement, Education is a right that Must be protected” and “Revitalization is Key to the Survival of the Nigerian Universities”.
Speaking with newsmen, Professor Alu explained that public universities across the country had continued to suffer infrastructure and manpower deficits due to inadequate attention.
He urged the federal and state governments to address their demands including the release of funds for the revitalisation of the public universities, payment of Earned Academic Allowance and indiscriminate proliferation of universities across the country.
Professor Alu also emphasized the need for Governor Abdullahi Sule to tow the path of Kwara, Ekiti and Osun State governments and commence payment of the federal government’s 35000 Naira wage award to lecturers of the university to provide relief to staff from the effects of the fuel subsidy removal.
The union vowed that if the state government fails within the stipulated time it will embark on an indefinite industrial action.
