ASUU strike: Tinubu grants waiver, orders payment of 4 months withheld lecturers’ salaries

Invoking the Principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has approved the partial waiver of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ order that was instituted against striking members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) following the commencement of their eight-month industrial action, which began on February 14, 2022, and was terminated on October 17, 2022.
The President has also directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ order on ASUU, which would pave the way for members of ASUU to receive four months of salary accruals out of the eight months, which was withheld during the strike.

The move, according to the President in a statement yesterday by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ajuri Ngelale, is in line with his administration’s determination to mitigate the difficulties being felt in the face of the implementation of key economic reforms in the country, as well as his recognition of the faithful implementation of terms, which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between ASUU and the Federal Government.

Also, the President has directed the grant of the waiver with a mandatory requirement that the Federal Ministry of Education and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must secure a Document of Understanding (DoU) establishing that this exceptional waiver granted by him would be the last one to be granted to the ASUU and all other Education Sector Unions.

Similarly, Tinubu has approved the waiver of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ order that was instituted against striking members of the National Association of Resident Doctors (NARD) on August 1, 2023, following the commencement of their industrial action, which began on July 26, 2023.

Recall that after several engagements between the Federal Government and NARD, the Resident Doctors called off the strike on August 12, 2023.
The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation was directed to withhold all salaries accruing to striking NARD members during the 17 days of their strike action.

The statement added: “Invoking the Principle of the Presidential Prerogative of Mercy, President Bola Tinubu has approved the waiver of the ‘No Work, No Pay’ order that was instituted against striking members of the NARD on August 1, 2023, following the commencement of their industrial action, which began on July 26, 2023.”

“After several constructive engagements between the Federal Government and NARD, the Resident Doctors called off their strike on August 12, 2023. The Office of the Accountant General of the Federation was directed to withhold all salaries accrued by striking NARD members during the 17 days of their strike action.

“In view of the faithful implementation of terms which were agreed upon during the fruitful deliberations between the Resident Doctors and the Federal Government of Nigeria, President Bola Tinubu has directed the grant of an exceptional last waiver of the “No Work, No Pay” Order on Resident Doctors, which will allow for the members of the NARD to receive the salaries, which were previously withheld during the 17-day strike action.

“The president has directed the grant of the waiver with a mandatory requirement that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment must secure a Document of Understanding (DoU) establishing that this exceptional waiver granted by the President will be the last one to be granted to the National Association of Resident Doctors and all other Health Sector Unions.”