FG Releases N1.3bn Earned Allowances For UNN Lecturers

The Federal Government has released N1.3 billion as earned allowances of members of the union, Dr Ifeanyichukwu Abada, Chairman, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Nigeria Nsukka(UNN) chapter, says.

While speaking to Newsmen in Nsukka on Friday at the end of an emergency congress of the union, Abada said the aim of the emergency congress was to inform union members that UNN has received N1.3billion from government as part of earned allowance arrears for 2009 to 2012 to ASUU members.

He added that another batch of earned allowance was expected to be released next week.

“I commend Ozumba’s efforts to ensure that earned allowance owned workers of the university is paid by government

“While N1.3billion was leased for the academic staff, about N400million was released to non-academic staff of UNN,” he said.

The ASUU boss praised Ozumba for his resolve that in spite the rumour that the Federal Government had paid the money and his administration diverted it, he was not deterred.

“I advise university workers to always cross-check their facts to avoid circulating unfounded and baseless information against an innocent person.

” Rumour peddlers even said that Ozumba gave me N20 million to seal my mouth, that is why am not talking as ASUU chairman in UNN.’’

While commending the government for releasing the fund, Abada encouraged “Government should after paying the remaining arrears of earned allowances, consider build-in the earned allowance into workers’ monthly salary.

“This will help to stop backlog of arrears and incessant strike by university workers as a result of non-payment of earned allowance, which disrupt academic calendar of government owned universities,” he said.

Some lecturers who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), expressed happiness that government released the money for payment of earned allowance.