UNIZIK lecturers cry to Abuja, “12 of our colleagues have died because of non-payment of salaries”
About 1,000 lecturers in Nnamdi Azikiwe University (UNIZIK), Awka, a federal institution, have protested against non-payment of their salaries after five years of employment.
The lecturers said 12 colleagues who were employed with them at the same period have died while waiting to be paid their emoluments.
They hoisted placards with inscriptions to tell their stories, and appealed to the authorities at UNIZIK and in Abuja to ensure their salaries are paid, highlighting the current national economic hardship that bites more on them and their families.
One of the lecturers, Ibezim Echezona, said: “Our members are dying and we have buried 12 members so far. The last one was this year and this is someone that we saw last December and today she is no more and that is to tell you what we are going through due to non-payment of our salaries for five to six years now.
“This problem is in the hands of the university because the IPPIS is no more. We demand an explanation. They should tell us if it is Abuja or the school management that is holding our salaries.”
A staff member at UNIZIK Center for Disabilities And Special Needs Research, Emmanuel Chukwuebuka, disclosed that since his employment in 2019, he has not received any remuneration yet has been delivering service.
“We have been employed since 2019 and to date we have not received any salary. Initially we were told that the problem is with the Integrated Payment and Personnel Information System IPPIS,” recounted Chukwuebuka, who is blind.
“Later the then-Governing Council came on board and approved our payments and data capturing, yet nothing came out of it.
“This has been affecting us generally, not to talk of people with disabilities, and it has not been easy as a family man taking care of his wife and children.
“If I remove my glasses you can see that I am crying, and we are owing our landlords and there is a limit to which the landlord can assist you; and what do I tell my children when they demand school fees and other needs?
“We do not know those that are holding our salaries we do not know if it is the federal government or the Ministry of Education or the university.”
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The protesters
– Daily Trust.
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