The Federal government has reportedly commenced the payment of minimum wage arrears owed the lecturers, as part of efforts to end the ongoing strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP).
The National President of ASUP, Dr. Anderson Ezeibe, and the Chairman of ASUU, FUT Minna, Dr. Gbolahan Bolarin, confirmed the development.
ASUU and ASUP are on strike owing the inability of the Federal government to meet their demands including the payment of minimum wage arrears and release of revitalisation funds, among others.
While ASUU commenced its industrial action on February 14, 2022, ASUP is on an initial two-week warning strike.
Confirming the payment on Thursday, Ezeibe, however, said the government attended to one of the demands of the union but yet to attend to others.
He said: “The government has started responding. They just started paying the salary/minimum wage arrears, the one they have refused to pay.
“However, that is just one of the demands, so we have not reached anywhere. They have not attended to the others, but I can confirm that people have started receiving alerts of the arrears owed.”
On his part, Bolarin said: “Some of my members got alert of their minimum wage arrears; their salaries are still pending.”