FUDMA staff demand payment of salary arrears

Some staffers of the Federal University Dutsin-ma (FUDMA), Katsina State, have urged the government to pay their outstanding salary arrears which the government has been allegedly owing them.

The affected members of staff claimed that they were employed between March and July, 2020, assumed duty without delay, but they started receiving salary about six to seven months later.

The staff, who spoke to newsmen on condition of anonymity, claimed to have written a letter to the university’s management on the matter, but there was no positive response.

They further claimed that the institution was owing each of them six to eight months salary arrears, depending on the time that they assumed duty.

According to them, they have tried their best to follow up the matter through the formal procedure, yet, there is no positive result.

They, therefore, urged the Vice-Chancellor of the university to kindly settle their arrears.

Responding, the vice-chancellor of the university, Prof. Hamisu Bichi, said that he was aware of the matter.

He, however, revealed that it was not his fault, saying, ”because nobody gave me their money.

Bichi said, “I thanked the Almighty Allah, because I was not the one who employed this group of workers.

“When I came in, I met them already employed by my predecessor. The then leadership didn’t go to the IPPIS to enroll them into the system for about six months.

“The time I assumed office as V-C, they spent at least six months without salary. I did my best to see that they were captured and started receiving salary.

“Everything is on a budget, there is no funds to settle their salary arrears, but I tried to ensure that they get the arrears, and a lot of them over 80 per cent got paid, with a few numbers.

“I asked them to also exercise patience, as we are trying to ensure that the salary arrears are captured in the budget, they should thank Allah for getting the job.”

According to him the management has been pleading with them to exercise patience.
Bichi said:”But they resorted to petitioning us to so many places. A lot of committees came to us but discovered that no one gave us their money.”

He, therefore, advised them to desist from petitioning their employer as it would not augur well for them.