“Tragic Toll: 84 Lecturers Lose Lives in Just 3 Months Due to Unpaid Salaries”

• ASUU reports 84 member deaths linked to economic hardship and unpaid salaries.
• Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke highlights the severe impact of government policies on university staff.
• Criticism of the “no-work, no-pay” policy affecting salary payments during strikes.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has reported the tragic loss of 84 members between May and August 2024, attributing these fatalities to economic hardship and unpaid salaries.

During an interview on Channels Television’s socio-political program “Inside Sources,” ASUU President Prof. Emmanuel Osodeke shed light on this alarming issue. He stated, “In the past three months, from May to August 2024, Nigerian universities lost 84 academics due to the challenges our members are facing.”

Osodeke emphasized the critical circumstances confronting university staff, pointing out that the government has continued to withhold salaries while simultaneously enacting policies that exacerbate financial strain, such as increases in fuel and electricity prices.

He also criticized the Federal Government’s “no-work, no-pay” policy, which impacts salary payments during strikes, remarking, “Despite this crisis, salaries for three-and-a-half months or more are being withheld under the no-work, no-pay rule.”