The federal government of Nigeria has claimed that the proposal made by the Prof. Limi Briggs-led Committee in relation to the demands by members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and other unions in universities would gulp ₦1.12 trillion to implement.
The Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige has posited that contrary to claims by ASUU President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, there is currently no collective bargaining agreement (CBA) between it and the union awaiting signing by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The disclosure by Ngige came just as former Vice President and presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2023 election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar has said investment in education pays the best dividend than any other form of investment.
Ngige, in a statement signed by the Deputy Director Press and Public Relations in the Ministry, Olajide Oshundun, said having rounded off its work, the Briggs Committee had proposed 109 -185 per cent increase in the university wage structure.
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It explained that based on the recommendation, federal government would incur, “an additional N560 billion as salaries alone, on top of the present N412 billion, less all other allowances such as earned academic allowances and fringe benefits, teaching allowance, field trip responsibility and post-graduate supervision allowances, and hazard allowances which were to gulp another N170 billion.”
The statement added: ‘In all, the sum of N1.12 trillion will be needed to pay the salaries and allowances of university lecturers and other staff in the university system.’
Ngige stated that at present, the wage bill of the university staff and their colleagues in teaching health systems gulp nearly 50 per cent of the total federal government staff personnel cost/wages.
‘Recall too that the staff of Polytechnics and Colleges of Education have also placed their wage review in the front burner since two months ago,’ he said.
While explaining how the Briggs Committee reached at the proposed wage increase, Ngige said what happened was that ASUU insisted that relevant advisory ministries and agencies should recuse themselves from the sitting of the Committee, accusing them of non-cooperation.
‘All alone with the Prof Briggs Committee, ASUU started fixing their salaries and allowances to the exclusion of the statutory government ministries and agencies that manage the entire annual finances of government, budget and fiscal policies and the Office of the Head of Service that is in charge of ensuring that public service rules and regulations are not undermined in any condition of service offered to public officers in the universities.
‘Because of this exclusion engineered by ASUU, and the arising complaints to the Chief of Staff to the President and the Minister of labour and Employment by the concerned MADs , the Chief of Staff and the Minister of Labour set up an inter-Ministerial/Agency sub Committee comprising the affected MDA’s under the Minister of State Budget and Planning to quickly look into Prof. Briggs Committee report which to all intents and purpose was still a proposal in June 2022 at the government side meeting.
‘This assignment was to be completed with the Presidential Committee on Salaries and Wages and given two weeks to come up with their recommendation,’ he said.
Ngige said based on the foregoing, no agreement had been reached between the federal government, ASUU and other university unions on the renegotiation of their salaries and allowances(wages).
He said the Chief of Staff to the president and himself had set up an inter-Ministerial/Agency sub-committee comprising the affected MDA’s under the Minister of State Budget and Planning to quickly look into the Briggs Committee report which to all intents and purposes was still a proposal as of June 2022, at the government side meeting.
The minister however said the Presidential Committee on Salaries and Wages has finished the review of the Nimi Briggs proposal and would shortly submit same to the president.
