Izuchukwu Okosi
By Kayode Shopekan
Academic Staff Union of Universities Chairman in Nassarawa State University Keffi, Dr Samuel Alu, has told the government of Nassarawa state to pay the earned academic allowance it is owing or risk a shutdown of activities in the institution.
Alu issued the warning to the government as he called on the state government to as a matter urgency pay its members their earned academic allowance that has accumulated to the sum of N900 million in over five years.
The Chairman ASUU-NSUK, said the union is warning the government to do the right thing and avoid a showdown from the union
He said: “Recall that the union had signed a memorandum of Action (MoA) with the Nasarawa State government and Council of the University, leading to the suspension of the 2016 strike in June and the recently agreed Earned Academic Allowance (EAA).
“For over five years on, the government of Nasarawa State has reneged on its promises to the union.
“The state government should as a matter of urgency honour its promises to the union and immediately take up the university staff salary in full, as well as mainstreaming of the agreed EAA of its members and the payment of the arrears of the earned academic allowance that has accumulated into years, amounting to N900 million.”
He also expressed worries at the way the university was being poorly funded, pointing out that the university management has for over four years mainstreamed the excess workload of other sister unions within the same university leaving out that of ASUU.
”The union therefore condemned in strong terms this unjust treatment unleashed on its members. There are other demands of the union which the state government must address. This includes poor funding, domestication and implementation of compulsory retirement age of 70 years for academic staff, among others.
“From the foregoing, the Nasarawa State government is precipitating another round of industrial crisis in the Nasarawa State University Keffi by the non release of outstanding EAA and mainstreaming of the EAA to their salary, which is the case in other sister unions on campus,” Alu concluded.
Izuchukwu Okosi is a Nigerian sports and entertainment journalist with two decades of experience in the media industry having begun his media journey in 2002 as an intern at Mundial Sports International (MSI) and Africa Independent Television (AIT), owners of Daar Communications Plc.
In October 2004, Okosi joined Complete Communications Limited, publishers of Complete Sports newspaper and Complete Football magazine as a reporter and later script writer for the Complete Sports studio.
He worked there for 13 years until October 2017.
Okosi also worked various times as Correspondent, Content creator and Editor at Sports Market International Magazine, Opera News, All Nigeria Soccer Media and Iconic Media Watch.
He also undertook freelance writing gigs for some local and international organizations.
Okosi is a member of the Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN), Association of Movie Producers (AMP), Association of Voiceover Artistes of Nigeria (AVOA), Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) and Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ).
He has been part of cast in some Nollywood movies and radio dramas including Blood Money 2, Scores To Settle, Dead End 2, Another Campus Tale and Battle Line.
Aside mainstream media and the entertainment industry, he has interests in scouting/unearthing of talents in the sports and creative sectors, exports business and property development.
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