Pay lawmakers half salaries instead of lecturers – Senator Ali Ndume speaks for ASUU
The senator representing Borno South in the National Assembly, Ali Ndume, has thrown his weight behind university lecturers who were paid half salaries for the month of October by the federal government.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had called off an eight-month old strike on October 14 in compliance to a court order.
But when lecturers got their pay for October, it was not in full, indicating that they were paid for just the other half of the month.
Speaking during an interaction with newsmen in Maiduguri on Thursday, Ndume urged the federal government to slash the salaries of NASS members by 50 percent to give it to ASUU as to meet their pressing demands.
The former Senate Leader advised the FG to set up a high-powered standing committee of respected educationists and patriotic Nigerians to meet with the leadership of ASUU in order to find a lasting solution to the lecturers’ demands.
“Even if it means that the National Assembly will reduce sitting allowances or be paid on casual allowances basis whenever they sit at the Lower and Upper chambers, by cutting the recurrent expenditure in the budget of the federal lawmakers to settle the ASUU arrears, let it be.
“We only assemble twice or so in a week and get paid as such.”
Ndume noted that civil servants who worked from home during the COVID-19 pandemic were paid their full monthly salaries and allowances.
“So why will the federal government cut university lecturers’ salaries because they went on legitimate strike? Constitutionally, they’re fighting for their rights and privileges,” he said.
“As a matter of priority and as a public servant in the legislative chambers, we do not work, so why don’t you just give us half salaries and then pay ASUU,” Ndume added.
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