ASUU Strike: Nasarawa government agrees to pay salaries, NSUK is expected to res

[justseyi]

After the state government decided to take on responsibility for paying the salaries of the university’s staff, academic activities at Nasarawa State University Keffi (NSUK) should shortly resume, barring any last-minute modifications.

 

At the fifth meeting of the state executive council, which was held on Wednesday at the Government House, Nasarawa State Governor Engineer Abdullahi Sule informed the attendees.

 

The decision of his administration to agree to take over the payment of salaries at NSUK was announced by Engineer Sule while briefing the council on recent developments across the educational, health, and security sectors of the state. This decision met one of the main demands by the local chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), and opened the door for the potential resume of academic activities.

 

According to the governor, his administration has agreed to take up the burden of paying the salaries of the personnel at the NSUK, starting this month, depending on the state’s available funds and in particular because of the priority attributed to education.

 

He emphasized that the university’s administration and the non-teaching unions, Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), had all so far consented to the university’s opening.

 

“The most crucial requirement they placed on us was to make sure we took over complete payment of all staff members’ salaries so they wouldn’t have to use their IGR.

 

“As far as we are concerned, we took a close look at our finances and are adamant that, given the cashflow we have at our disposal and the value we place on education, we should be able to begin that starting this month.

 

“That is what we hope to accomplish. We also expect they will agree as soon as the payment begins, presumably on Thursday or Friday, and then we hope to see them returning to their classes, too,” he said.

 

Engineer Sule also gave the council an update on his recent work in the field of education. He said that after a recent trip to the Federal Ministry of Communication and Digital Economy, the ministry’s agency, the National Communication Commission (NCC), donated ICT equipment to the Akwanga College of Education through the National Information Technology Development Agency (NITDA).

 

“Like they did for us at the Isa Mustapha Agwai Polytechnic Lafia, they provided all of the ICT equipment from the NCC. Two servers will be installed as part of COE Akwanga’s contribution to education in the state, which is an advantage, he added.

 

The Governor took use of the occasion to express his gratitude to Professor Ali Isa Pantami, Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, the NCC, and NITDA for their assistance in this matter.

 

Regarding the health sector, Engineer Sule recalled that Nasarawa State had just last week accomplished a significant milestone when it won two prizes for its work in the areas of COVID-19 therapy and vaccination, taking first place not only in the North Central region but also nationally.

 

Considering what some of you have seen, we would want to thank everyone for helping us reach this significant milestone in the treatment of COVID-19, including the good people of Nasarawa State. I would want to thank the Ministry of Health, in particular the Commissioner, his staff, and the Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Agency, for all the hard effort that they put in to help Nasarawa State win two awards last Friday.

 

He emphasized once more that the awards are in honor of the frontline personnel who represented the state admirably.

 

However, the governor emphasized that COVID-19 was still present, with Nasarawa State recording a total of 2278 cases and 49 fatalities. Eighty percent of the cases that have been recorded involve Karu, Keffi, and Lafia.

 

Monkey pox has had three outbreaks, chicken pox has had thirteen outbreaks, and smallpox has eight, especially in and around Lafia and Keffi.

 

Regarding security, the governor remembered his most recent trip to the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) office in Abuja, where he asked for the military’s assistance in resolving security issues, namely at the borders between Nasarawa and Kaduna and Nasarawa and Taraba States.

 

According to Engineer Sule, the COAS has agreed to establish two military super camps in the Awe and Karu Local Government Areas based on the request.

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