From Celestine Ihejirika, Jalingo
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Taraba State University Chapter, has now heaved a sigh of relief as Governor Agbu Kefas has released the sum of N500 million to end the ongoing strike in the institution.
Speaking with newsmen on the latest development on Monday, the Commissioner for Tertiary Education, Dr. Mike Dio Jen appealed to striking academic members to resume classes immediately as the governor has demonstrated what he described as “fatherly love” to the union.
Dr. Dio disclosed the latest N300 million released Monday morning by the governor in addition to the earlier N200 million a few days ago was part of an agreement to settle the backlog of salaries owed to staff of the university.
He also hinted that out of the seven demands presented by ASUU, Governor Kefas has successfully cleared five of them, adding that approval for pensions and gratuity will soon be over as soon as the state house of assembly concludes deliberation on that regard.
The commissioner explained that upon assuming office, Governor Kefas inherited about two years of unpaid salaries at the institution amounting to over N4 billion which had accumulated under the previous administration.
“When Governor Kefas assumed office nearly three years ago, he inherited over N4 billion in unpaid salaries at the university. He immediately intervened with more than N1 billion to begin addressing the issue,” he said.
The commissioner also noted that the university’s monthly wage bill had increased significantly following the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage in the state.
“Before the new minimum wage, the university’s monthly salary bill stood at about N308 million. After the implementation of the N70,000 minimum wage, the wage bill rose to over N636 million monthly,” he explained.
Despite the increase, Jen said the government has continued to ensure regular payment of salaries to both academic and non-academic staff of the institution.
He added that the state government has also invested heavily in infrastructure development at the university.
