BREAKING: President Buhari orders payment of salaries before April 23

Onyxnews Nigeria reports that President Muhammadu Buhari has directed the Finance Minister not delay in paying all salaries, wages, allocations, and revenues, before April 23rd.

This message was made available by his spokesperson on Media and Publicity, Femi Adesina, that the President has decided for the citizen to have a relief based on the “stay-at-home’ directive, which is one of the guidelines set aside by the World Health Organisation(WHO) in order to curb the spread of the “Coronavirus”

At the same time, The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Wednesday said its ongoing strike would continue despite the order of the President, Muhammadu Buhari that February and March 2020 withheld salaries of lecturers in federal universities should be paid.

The lecturers salaries was withheld  by the Federal Government over their refusal to register in the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System.

This reliable online news platform quotes PUNCH that the National President of ASUU, Prof. Abiodun Ogunyemi, had said that the lecturers would not resume duties due to the strike was not only about IPPIS.

Ogunyemi said the payment of the salaries would enable them have a meaningful dialogue with the government.

He said: “Now, we can discuss without an atmosphere of intimidation. This will lead to a meaningful dialogue.” “The ongoing industrial strike action by the union is still on. Our strike is not just about the IPPIS,” he added.

Ogunyemi said, “If they had not paid at this time, with what everyone is going through, it would have meant a declaration of war. The discussion will start when they pay. They have even attached a condition to the payment.

“Our members weren’t paid with BVN in the past. Why the sudden change? They should go back to the old system which they have always used to pay.

“Members worked in February and we were still working in March before this pandemic broke. It is expected that a labourer is paid his wages. Even as we are talking, people are supposed to be prepared to get their April salary.”

On a different view, ASUU had said the implementation of the IPPIS was against the FG-ASUU 2009 agreement and subsequently embarked on an indefinite strike.