Lecturers at the Lagos State University of Science and Technology have demanded an explanation as to why their August salaries are yet to be paid by the management of the institution.
A cross-section of the teaching staff who spoke with Saturday PUNCH on condition of anonymity on Friday accused the management of deliberately withholding their August salaries.
They accused the Vice-Chancellor of the university, Prof Olumuyiwa Odusanya, of taking a unilateral decision to withhold workers’ salaries, alleging that he did not carry the Lagos State Government along.
According to the lecturers, their colleagues in other state-owned institutions, Lagos State University and Lagos State University of Education, have been paid despite the fact that their non-academic staff are also on strike.
“The VC has taken a unilateral decision to withhold workers’ salary without recourse to the Lagos State Government. The other state-owned universities whose non-academic staff unions are equally on strike have since paid their workers’ August salary.
“Meanwhile, the LASUSTECH academic staff are not on strike, but they have refused to pay us. LASG has not issued any directive to the VC to withhold workers’ salary,” one of the aggrieved lecturers said.
However, the university’s Director of Information, Lanre Kuye, denied the claim, saying that the lecturers would be paid as soon as the strike is suspended.
*Saturday PUNCH gathered that the Non-Academic Staff *Union of Universities in LASUSTECH has been on industrial action for the past three weeks.
Kuye, while speaking with our correspondent on Friday, said, “It is only the August salary that has not been paid. The reason being that nobody prepared it. The state government has been doing well for us but nobody has prepared the salary. Personally, I want them to suspend the strike to come and prepare the salary.
“Salaries are being prepared by NASU and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities who are on strike. It is not true that the Vice-Chancellor is withholding their salaries. It would be prepared immediately if they suspend the strike. The VC cannot prepare the account. He is a medical doctor.”
