ASUU reports 84 lecturer deaths, demands full payment of withheld salaries and increased funding

• ASUU reports 84 lecturer deaths between May and August 2024 due to economic hardship and unpaid salaries
• ASUU President Emmanuel Osodeke calls for increased funding and full payment of withheld salaries to motivate lecturers
• ASUU issues a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve lingering issues, including the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement

In a distressing revelation, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has reported the deaths of 84 lecturers between May and August 2024, attributing these losses to economic hardship and unpaid salaries.

ASUU President, Emmanuel Osodeke, shared this alarming statistic during the Sunday edition of Inside Sources with Laolu Akande, a socio-political programme aired on Channels Television.

ASUU reports 84 lecturer deaths, demands full payment. Photo credit: @osodeke43
Source: Twitter

“In the past three months, from May to August (2024), Nigerian universities lost 84 academics to death. In three months, because of what our people are going through,” Osodeke stated.

ASUU reveals shocking death toll

He highlighted the severe impact of withheld salaries under the 'no-work, no-pay' policy, coupled with rising fuel and electricity costs, on the lives of university staff.

“Despite this crisis, you are holding somebody’s three-and-half or more salaries on the no-work, no-pay, you are owing this money. People are trying to survive, you introduced fuel increase, you introduced electricity increase, and everything is gone now.”

Osodeke called for increased funding for university education in Nigeria, emphasizing that lecturers must be motivated to ensure the sector functions optimally.

He revealed that despite his 15 years as a professor, he earns only N420,000 per month, a salary he argues is insufficient for Nigerian lecturers to compete globally.

Osodeke insisted that ASUU members must be fully compensated for the entire period of the 2022 industrial action, arguing that the Tinubu administration has not done lecturers any favours by clearing only four months of their withheld salaries.

ASUU takes final decision on strike

Meanwhile, Legit.ng earlier reported that the leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has maintained that a strike is not imminent if President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's led federal government implements the agreements reached in the next two weeks.

Professor Emmanuel Osodeke, president of ASUU, disclosed this on Monday, July 8, during an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN).

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Source: Legit.ng