The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma chapter has accused the Edo Government of owing the striking lecturers of the institution over N4 billion unpaid arrears of emoluments.
In a statement by the Special Adviser to Governor Godwin Obaseki on Media Projects, Mr. Crusoe Osagie, he described as absolutely false, a report by a civic-tech organization, BudgIT, which listed the state among those owing workers.
Osagie insisted that the government was up-to-date and consistent with payment of salaries.
A joint statement by ASUU chairman and the assistant secretary, Dr. Cyril Oziegbe Onogbosele and Dr. Willam Odion respectively, maintained that both academic and non-academic staff in the state owned university were being owed 20 months of arrears of emoluments.
The Onogbosele and Odion disclosed the emoluments to include salaries and trade unions’ check-off dues among other deductions.
The unionists lamented that the humongous amount of unpaid emoluments included the indebtedness to the General Workers’ Cooperative Society to the sum of N665,067,685 Lecturers’ Welfare Association of N596, 791,580; ASUU ACADA Cooperative Society of N62, 000,000 and Arrears of Monthly Salaries of N2, 250,000,000, totally N3, 573,859,265.77 amongst others.
They said: “This total figure excludes the unpaid check-off dues and other sundry deductions from the emoluments of non-academic staff of the university.
“This clarification is coming on the heels of denial by the Edo State Government that it does not owe workers in the state.
“The union alerted the Edo State Government that its directive of June 8, for the immediate payment of all outstanding salaries in the university was obeyed in gross default,” said the union.”
According to Onogbosele and Odion, the affected staff unions in the university, were restive over the huge indebtedness of the state government/university to them and their members as a result of non-payment of salaries, check-off dues, voluntary savings and other deductions since September, 2020.
They noted that the immediate payment of outstanding emoluments of workers is crucial to the restoration of peace in the university.
