ASUU National President, Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke, made this statement during an interview.

His response comes in the wake of a circular issued by the Office of the Auditor-General of the Federation announcing the salary increment.

It can be recalled that the Federal Government initially opposed a 25% pay increase for lecturers while approving a 35% raise for professors.

However, a circular numbered OAuGF/ SW/C/QP/1395/VOL.1/11, dated September 21, 2023, and addressed to universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, states that the implementation of the salary increment was approved by the Presidential Committee on Salaries during its 13th meeting.

“We have not been informed of such a development and when we are officially notified, we are going to react,” he told our correspondent on phone.

However, the National President of the Congress of University Academics, CONUA, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, said he was aware of the circular.

He added that the pay rise was not enough, but that his union would not reject it.

“In fact, that circular ought to have taken effect many months ago. We met the then Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, over the matter.

“The thinking then was that the circular would be made public last March and the effective date of its effectiveness would be as from January this year and the arrears paid.

“What they are offering is not enough but we are not rejecting it. However, this is to be taken different from the general upward review of salaries of public workers in view of the current economic crunch in the country,” he said.

The Director, Public Affairs Directorate, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria, Malam Auwalu Umar, disclosed this in a statement on Thursday in Zaria.

According to the statement, the initiative was in collaboration with the International Institute for Online Education, NAN reports.

Umar said that the training was aimed at strengthening digital transformation of higher education teaching and learning.

He further explained said that it was a training of trainers programme, which was basically on online course of design, development and production.

He also said the training was focused on general courses in three thematic areas of engineering/computing, medical/bioscience, as well as humanities/social sciences.

He disclosed that the beneficiaries, comprising of 32 males and 18 females, were drawn from the ABU, University of Abuja, Gombe State University, Ibrahim Badamasi Babangida University, Lapai, and Federal College of Education, Zaria.

He said the three-day training was hosted by the Department of Computer Engineering, ABU, with Prof. Paul Prinsloo, from the University of South Africa, as facilitator.

He noted that UNESCO-ICHEI initiated a global project on the ‘Digital Transformation of Teaching and Learning’ following the UNESCO World Higher Education Conference.

Umar added that on September 28, UNESCO-ICHEI and IIOE, Nigeria National Centre, jointly launched a project on “Empowering Institutional Policy Implementation for Digital Teaching and Learning in Nigeria.”

“The project is to, among others, support implementation of institutional policies for digital teaching and learning in Nigerian higher education institutions, using the ABU’s teaching and learning policy, as a case study.

“It is also to empower IIOE Nigeria National Centre, to undertake digital literacy enhancement programmes, required to drive the digital transformation of higher education teaching and learning,” Umar disclosed.

The COEASU gave the ultimatum in a statement made available to our correspondent on Wednesday by the National Vice President and Southwest Zonal Coordinator of COEASU, Olusegun Lana.

The lecturers said the Federal Government has not been fair to colleges of education and had neglected issues affecting the union and the colleges despite many entreaties.

The union listed some of the issues with the government as the failure of the Federal Government to reconstitute its renegotiation team for COEASU-FGN 2010 Agreement; non-release of the N15bn revitalization fund b pledged by the government and insistence on IPPIS against UTAS which the union described as a more reliable alternative payment system.

The union urge stakeholders to prevail on the government to do the needful now before the expiration of the ultimatum after which they said there would be no going back on the planned industrial action.