|By Chinwendu Nwani
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has dismissed the Federal Government’s newly introduced Tertiary Institution Staff Support Loan Scheme (TISSLS), describing it as a deceptive ploy to divert attention from the non-implementation of its long-standing agreement with lecturers.
The scheme, launched by the Federal Government, offers academic and non-academic staff of Nigerian tertiary institutions interest-free loans of up to N10 million.
Speaking at a press conference in Uyo on Monday, the Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Calabar Zone, Comrade Ikechuku Igwenyi—flanked by chapter chairpersons and former zonal coordinator Comrade Happiness Uduk—condemned the initiative as “slavish” and insulting to university workers.
“How can a responsible government, in the face of debts owed to lecturers, turn around to ask university-based unions to guarantee loans they know nothing about?” Igwenyi queried. “Which salary structure will be used for repayment? Where will this huge amount government wants to invest in the so-called loan come from?”
He argued that instead of launching what he called “frivolities,” the government should have prioritized paying withheld salaries, settling arrears of promotion, implementing renegotiated agreements, and addressing the outdated salary structure, which has been in place for 17 years.
The union accused the government of using “teasers, blackmail, and distractions” each time ASUU presses for dialogue—citing IPPIS, NELFUND, and salary awards outside collective bargaining principles as examples.
Igwenyi further warned that just as the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) has “caged” students with debts, the new loan scheme seeks to “tie the hands and brains of their parents.”
ASUU’s demands include: immediate signing and implementation of the draft renegotiated 2009 agreement, payment of three and a half months’ withheld salaries, release of third-party deductions by IPPIS, payment of promotion arrears, mainstreaming of Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), and strict adherence to TETFund’s mandate for research and academic development.
“The loan scheme is nothing but a poisoned chalice,” Igwenyi declared, insisting that ASUU would not accept any policy that undermines the welfare of lecturers and the future of Nigerian universities.
