By Joseph Joy

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU has lauded the pragmatic leadership of the ESUT Vice-Chancellor, Prof Aloysius-Michaels Nnabugwu Okolie on his two years administration.

The Association gave the commendation through its president, Comrade Engr Okey Animba in an exclusive interview with ESUT Monitor.

Com. Animba while assessing the VC’s two years in office reckoned that his members have not been owed salary since he became the chief executive officer of the university adding that many of them have also been promoted

“In his two years as the Vice-Chancellor in ESUT, we have not been owed salary, salary is not an issue, my members have been promoted. There is synergy between labour and the management. Infrastructure-wise, the school is moving. Under two years, I will rate him high,” the chairman said

However, on the remaining years of his stewardship, the SSANU ESUT supremo made a passionate appeal to the VC to pay the accumulated arrears of benefits, entitlements of his members to the tune of over seventeen billion naira also calling on the Enugu State government to increase its monthly subventions to the university

“What I wish him to do is he should make sure he clears this over seventeen billion naira accumulated arrears owed my members, it’s very possible. We have a new Council and a wonderful government with a pragmatic governor, ESUT should be properly funded. In the next 3 years, there should be increase in subvention; N136 million is nothing to write home and about. Over seventeen million naira arrears should be cleared, my members should be promoted because labour in campus is supportive.”

The chairman offered suggestion on how the backlog could be paid

“We are not saying that they should bring the whole money at once, but at least they should start doing something. We should start somewhere, like the issue of promotion arrears, we can say pay unit by unit. I know that Bursary unit has been paid, some staff in Education have also been paid. So we can say faculty of this, pay them below 10 million, Works Department, pay below 7 million; Security can be paid 8 million, month by Month or in 2 months if we have the political will. That’s why I said they can do that, we are supportive.”