Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities, University of Port Harcourt branch have rejected the sharing formula on the proposed disbursement of earned allowance by the federal government.
The groups during a protest within the Uniport campus threatened an indefinite strike should the government go ahead to implement the 75 per cent against the 25 per cent disbursement of the said funds.
Addressing journalists during the protest, the branch chairman of UNIPORT’s SSANU, Bernard Ezebunwo-Chukwu, said the 25 per cent proposed sharing formula for three non-teaching staff unions as against 75 per cent for academic staff was unacceptable.
Ezebunwo-Chukwu, who is also the chairman of Joint Action Committee stated, “The sharing formula which they have revised, they have printed, they have announced, 75 over 25. 75 per cent for academic staff and 25 per cent for three non-teaching staff unions.
“It will not be a new thing now, because they have done it before the first time, second time and third time. We have been clamouring for this change and stop. But they don’t seem to hear what we are saying.
“Why we are doing this protest, it is all over universities, is to tell the world that what happened before is going to happen again. Maybe the Nigerian government is happy to see their institutions been truncated at intervals.
“They said 75 per cent and then 25 per cent. What is the percentage rate per institution? If you want to be just, why didn’t you propose this as you will do to the other one so that there will be no concurrence?
“You just throw the bones to the dog. It is not good and we frown against it. We will resist it to the last.”
He added that if nothing was done, they would shut down the university.
“There shall be no water, there shall be no light. The laboratory will be locked. In fact there will be no life “What that means is that the students will suffer more,” he stated.
On his part, the branch chairman of NASU, OgbaEgbe Ospruchi, lamented the delay in payment of minimum wage arrears and hazard allowance.
“They should pay us our minimum wage arrears because it is overdue for payment. By Monday, we shall get a directive from our national whether a strike will come up or not.
“The hazard allowance that they promised to pay, but till now nothing has been done. University of Port Harcourt has not gotten it. As of August this year, several universities have gotten theirs. But Uniport happens to be an exception.
“We are asking that the federal government should do the needful. Any directive we get from our national from Monday, it will be strike, strike, strike,” Ospruchi added.
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