‘Halfsa’ was a term introduced into the lexicon of Osun State civil servants who were paid half salaries when the current minister of internal affairs, Mr. Rauf Aregbesola, held sway as governor.
The issue of ‘halfsa’ resurfaced during the week when members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) said they received half salary for the month of October.
Recall that ASUU was on strike from February 14 until October 14 when the industrial dispute was call off.
During the period of the action, the federal government said it would implement the ‘no-work-no-pay rule.
Last Thursday, reports emerged that the government only paid half-month salaries to the university teachers for the month of October.
Following the development, the ASUU leadership summoned an emergency meeting of its national executive council in Abuja, to decide its response to the issue.
Fingers are pointing at the minister of labour and employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, who is alleged to be fomenting another round of crisis.
In his reaction, ASUU president, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, who confirmed the development, said Ngige wants to create more problems and urged President Muhammadu Buhari to call the minister to order.
“Half salaries were paid; no reasons were given whatsoever. We learnt that Ngige wrote the office of the Accountant General and Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) and told them to only pay us for the period when we called off the strike.
“We heard there was a letter to that effect but we haven’t gotten it yet. We are going to summon a meeting.
“The minister just want to create more problems and Nigerians should take note. They are pushing us again to the point of taking drastic action. We have not been paid for eight months and we have resumed for about a month now,” he said.
Meanwhile, ASUU branch at the University of Jos has ordered its members to stay at home indefinitely, pending the payment of salaries withheld by the federal government.
It disclosed this in a statement issued yesterday (Friday) and signed by the branch chairman, Prof Lazarus Maigoro.
“One of the issues agreed at the meeting was that 50 per cent of the backlog of eight months arrears of our withheld salaries will be paid to our members immediately but as at the time of writing this press release, only 17 days prorated October salary was paid to our members by the office of the Accountant General of the Federation.
“Having stayed for about nine months running now, our members in the University of Jos considered this an insult to them by the accountant general of the federation. Is the accountant general of the federation actually answerable to the minister of labour?
“We are also aware that the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, wrote a memo to the accountant general asking him to pay our members only from the day we suspended the strike.
“This further creates doubts on our minds as to whether the understanding reached with the leadership of the house of representatives on some of the issues will be implemented at all by those who are saddled with the responsibility of doing so in order to avoid further needless strikes.
“From all indications, the minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige, has personalised the matter between him and our union and is on a mission for vendetta.
“It has become crystal clear now that he wasn’t happy that the house of representatives brokered a truce on some of the issues we went on strike for and has gone behind to undermine it.
“It is also very clear to us now why he shamelessly walked out on the leadership of the House of Representatives at one of the meetings with all stakeholders to the glare of all Nigerians because he never wanted any form of resolution to be reached on the issues being discussed.
“In view of the bottleneck placed by Ngige towards paying our members the backlog of our salaries, the congress of ASUU University of Jos met today (yesterday November 4, 2022) and resolved to stay at home, though not on strike, until the backlog of the withheld salaries are paid,” Maigoro said.
