ASUP Threatens Strike Over Delayed Salaries
The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has threatened to embark on industrial action if the federal government fails to address the persistent delay in salary payments to staff of federal polytechnics across the country.
In a strongly worded statement on Sunday, ASUP President, Shammah Kpanja, described the salary delays as “mental torture,” which he traced to the transition from the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS).
Recall that the federal government had earlier admitted that the disruptions were largely due to the hasty and poorly coordinated implementation of the new payment system.
Kpanja lamented that for the past eight months, workers in federal polytechnics have suffered increasing financial hardship as a result of the delays, warning that if no urgent solution is provided, union members may be instructed to stay away from work.
“Our Union has observed a troubling trend in the delay in payment of staff salaries across federal tertiary institutions in the last eight months,” he stated.
“This new pattern of subjecting staff to indeterminate periods of uncertainty over their already devalued salaries coincides with the transition from IPPIS to GIFMIS. Those responsible have continually blamed the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation, citing delays in funding institutions as the cause.
“Despite repeated formal complaints to the Office of the Accountant General, no meaningful improvement has been recorded. Staff of different federal polytechnics remain in distress at the end of each month.”
Kpanja called for the immediate release of June 2025 salaries and urged the government to put an end to the monthly delays going forward.
“This call is made in the interest of sustaining the fragile industrial harmony within the tertiary education sector, particularly the polytechnics. No trade union will sit idly while its members are subjected to these harrowing experiences month after month.”
He warned that ASUP may have no choice but to direct members to withdraw their services from all affected institutions and to continue such action at the end of every month until the issue is resolved.
The ASUP president also decried the emotional and economic toll on staff, saying many had been reduced to begging and were using their meagre salaries to service debts accumulated while waiting for payment.
Kpanja accused the federal government of placing a low premium on education and prioritising political ambitions over the well-being of academics and the stability of the education sector.
“We are led to believe that this deliberate torture stems from the government’s disregard for the academic community. Both payment platforms are managed by the Office of the Accountant General, and it is expected that the transition—using essentially the same payroll information—should be seamless.
“Eight months is too long for a transition period. Only a government that places little value on education would treat workers in tertiary institutions this way.”
He described the situation as shameful, especially in the face of growing hardship across the country.
“While the academic community is punished with penury, political leaders indulge in mindless opulence and are preoccupied with power grabs ahead of the next elections. This is unfortunate and symptomatic of a terminally ill nation,” Kpanja concluded.