TSA: Eroding varsities’ autonomy, delays payment of salaries

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), Akure Zone, has raised alarm that the Treasury Single Account (TSA) introduced to Federal universities across the country by President Muhammadu Buhari is not only eroding the universities of their autonomy, but also strangling them of fund to pay salaries.

Appealing to government to reverse the policy, the Zonal Coordinator of the union, Dr. Alex Odiyi, noted that government had been ill-advised to whip up unnecessary crises in the universities.

Odiyi said: “It has now become the norm for government through Ministry of Finance to release less than the amount needed to pay staff salaries on monthly basis. This obnoxious policy spear-headed by the Minister of Finance, Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, is eroding the universities of its autonomy, making them go through unnecessary stress,” he said.

According to ASUU Zonal Coordunator: “This shortfall in personnel cost started
around December and has remained till date. The consequence is that the universities are now unable to pay salaries. Some are even paying net salaries, which implies that deductions into staff savings, cooperatives, unions and others are not remitted. This is now running into months.”

Odiyi disclosed that TSA has also affected local and international researches as funds from international funding agencies are also not released as a result of the policy.

“At University of Agriculture, Abeokuta, (UNAAB), funds administered
by the university for certain programmes spanning five African countries are trapped. Similar developments occur at University of Lagos. This might lead to Nigerian universities and researchers to be blacklisted from accessing international grants.