The Ekiti State University (EKSU) chapter of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has flayed the state government for deducting the controversial high tax imposed on its members from subvention to the institution.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday in Ado-Ekiti, EKSU ASUU Chairman, Dr. Ayan Adeleke, criticised the state government for imposing tax on the members' peculiarly allowance for research and publications in international journal.
He said: "We have decided to fight on until the government stops the malicious deductions from our salaries and all our demands for unpaid allowances are met".
It will be recalled that the union, in view of the controversial tax deduction, ordered its members to stay at home effective from July 1, a day before the take-off of the national strike called by the national body of the union.
Adeleke said EKSU would soon go into extinction unless the government stops starving the institution of fund.
He said: "Deducting the tax from the subvention to the university is illegal. It is rather disheartening that the state governor, Dr. Kayode Fayemi, is starving the university of fund with the level of academic attainment he had achieved in life.
"Tax is negotiable, even if it is an Act. Government cannot use tax to put people in trouble. As we speak now, some universities are still negotiating, so why should they rush to implement it here".
Adeleke, however, urged the state government to drop its N210 million monthly subvention to the institution and take over its N380 million monthly wage bill so that the university could rely on its Internally Generated Revenue (IGR) for effective service delivery.
National Mirror