NAAT Laments FG’s Failure to Implement MoU, Mulls Industrial Action

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja
The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) at the weekend lamented the failure of the federal government to implement a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) both parties signed in February.

Consequently, the association warned that its members might be forced “to embark on industrial action if the federal government fails to commence implementation of the agreement they signed in February.”

The National President of NAAT, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma expressed this concern at a session with journalists in Abuja Friday night, lamenting the federal government’s failure to honour the agreement they both signed.

At the session, Nwokoma explained that one of the promises made by the federal government was that it would pay their members arrears of minimum wage and its consequential adjustment in August.

He, thus, said: “We are going to have our National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in September. If between now and September the government does nothing about payment of the minimum wage arrears and the renegotiation of agreement has not started, our NEC will come up with our next line of action which may be strike, the only language the government understands.”

Nwokoma said that the federal government made several offers in the MoU before it was signed but went to sleep as soon as the agreement was signed.

“Our issue now is not particularly with the IPPIS, the issue we have with the government is that we signed a MoU with the federal government and thereafter it was not implemented. We signed an MoU in February this year and till now the government has abandoned that agreement.

“For instance, the federal government told us that they are going to pay us arrears of minimum wage and its consequential adjustment in August. Up to date, nothing has happened about the agreement.

“Again, the federal government assured us that our circular for levels 14 and 15 is going to be released but till today, it has done nothing about it. They told us that our renegotiation will start but till now nothing has happened,” he said.

On the outcome of the meeting, Nwokoma said the association “has received assurances from TETFUND management that henceforth the fund will be carrying technologists along in its activities especially in the handling of procurement of technology equipment for the universities in the country.”

He also added that TETFUND had agreed to send more technologists abroad for further training.
Nwokoma, however, lamented the state of most technical equipment procured by the government for various universities, adding the most of them have been left to rot away since no adequate plan was made to train those who are to use them.
“A lot of these equipment have been left in cartons and without use because people have not been trained on the use of these equipment,” he said.