The Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has condemned the sustained but unacceptable trend of salary delays across federal tertiary institutions, saying the pattern has become a source of distress for thousands of workers nationwide.

National President of the union, Shammah Kpanja, accused the Federal Government of subjecting polytechnic workers to prolonged financial hardship through delays in salary disbursement—an experience that has persisted for the past eight months, threatening that members will down tools if the government fails to act swiftly.

He said: “Our union may be forced to direct members to stay away from work if the situation does not improve, and sustain the same until salaries are paid, while adopting the same pattern at the end of each month going forward.

“Our union has observed a trend in the delay in payment of staff salaries across federal institutions in the last eight months. This new trend of subjecting staff to mental torture of enduring indeterminate periods of uncertainty concerning the release of the severely devalued pittance now referred to as salaries coincides with the transition of tertiary institutions from Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) payment platform to Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) platform,” Kpanja said.

ASUP blamed the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation for the delay, saying the agency failed to ensure smooth funding of institutions since the transition between the two payment systems.

He said members have complained severally to the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation without any positive response, leaving workers in distress at the end of every month.

He described the delay as unjustifiable, as both the IPPIS and GIFMIS payment systems are under the same federal office.

“Eight months is too long a trial period for the transition, and it is only a government that places low value on education that will treat its workers in this manner,” Kpanja lamented.

Beyond the technicalities of the payroll platforms, ASUP said the situation is a reflection of the deeper systemic problem of disregard for the academic community.

Describing the delay as undeserved treatment in an already harsh economy, the union lamented the contrast between the suffering of academic staff and the flamboyance of Nigeria’s political elite.