Varsity Lecturers Charge Kwara Govt to Pay Allowances, Subvention

The Kwara State University branch of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) appealed to the state governor, Alhaji AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq, yesterday, pleading with him to keep his word regarding the union’s demands for the payment of the staff’s accumulated Earned Academic Allowance (EAA) and to reinstate subvention to the institution.

The union recently removed the fuel subsidy, which is seriously endangering academics at the university and the university as a whole, according to a statement released in Ilorin and signed by the branch chairman, Dr. Abdulganiyu Shehu Salau.

On August 20, 2022, the union had a meeting with Governor AbdulRazaq to discuss the EAA and the restoration of the subvention. He made a commitment to settle the accumulated EAA payment and to reinstate the subvention for KWASU as soon as the fuel subsidy was eliminated in June 2023.

Three state-owned universities—KWASU in Malete, Ladoke Akintola University (LAUTECH) in Ogbomoso, Oyo State, and Osun State University (UNIOSUN) in Osogbo—are present in the Ibadan zone of the ASUU.

UNIOSUN receives N150 million per month in subvention from the Osun State Government, while LAUTECH receives N295 million per month in subvention from the Oyo State Government.

Unfortunately, KWASU is the only university that receives no subsidies, and this situation has persisted for almost ten years, they claimed.

The statement continued, “At the present time, KWASU heavily relies on internally generated revenue and loans from commercial banks with two-digit interest rates to carry out its mandates of Teaching, Research, and Community Development.

The Kwara State Government’s zero-subvention policy has had a negative impact on the university, its staff, and the standard of academic services provided to the students, among other things.

The union makes the following appeal to the government to reinstate KWASU subvention and pay the accrued EAA to its staff without delay, particularly in light of the fact that the removal of the fuel subsidy has seriously harmed the ability of academics at the university and the university as a whole to continue operating. ”.