PRESIDENT Bola Tinubu has granted a partial waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” order issued against Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members.
The ASUU began an eight-month strike on February 14, 2022, and completed it on October 17, 2022. To compel university lecturers to return to their classes, the then-President, Muhammadu Buhari, invoked the ‘no work, no pay’ policy. Since then, the lecturers have not been paid during the strike.
However, the academics were offered some relief today when presidential spokesman Ajuri Ngelale announced a partial waiver of the decree.
Ajuri said the waiver “will allow for the previously striking members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months of salary which was withheld during the eight-month industrial action undertaken by the union”.
He said Tinubu invoked the Principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, seeking to “mitigate the difficulties being felt during the implementation of key economic reforms in the country, as well as his recognition of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government of Nigeria”.
Tinubu approved the waiver with the condition that the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment secure a Memorandum of Understanding stating that the President’s exceptional waiver will be the last one granted to ASUU and all other education sector unions.
