By Able Winnard
Lecturers in the State-owned tertiary institution, University of Cross River State (UNICROSS) are lamenting four months of unpaid salaries, saying the “season of sweetness” has turned bitter for them.
Governor Bassey Otu in his ‘People’s First’ mantra themed his administration as “Season of Sweetness” including the theme of the 2023 Carnival Calabar. This, the UNICROSS lecturers disagreed saying the reverse is the case.
One of the lecturers in Calabar campus in the Department of Mass Communication, Dr. Emmanuel Inyang in a dissatisfactory post on his Facebook handle on Friday, December 29th, 2023 accused the State government and school management of withholding the monthly subventions.
He said in “the midst of these, staff of the University are struggling to put the University on the world map by training and producing graduates that are capable of competing with their contemporaries all over the world” but lecturers making it work are neglected
The lecturers also accused the government of partiality, stating that “the State government gave out N10,000 naira monthly palliative to her workers but ruled out UNICROSS.” Adding that: “Again, the government has paid salaries of all her workers for November and December 2023 but has held onto the subvention of UNICROSS without a reason.”
They, however, prayed Governor Otu to come to their aid as the staff of UNICROSS can not even feed their families in the season of love.
The post reads: “Bitterness in the midst of sweetness: The situation of UNICROSS staff
“While most Cross Riverians, indigenes, residents, and visitors are celebrating the “season of sweetness”, UNICROSS staff are wallowing in misery as a result of unpaid salaries for four (4) months.
“While it is uncertain why these workers have not been paid their wages, there are speculations that the governor of Cross River State has refused to release the monthly subvention of the University for the months of November and December 2023.
“The management of the University also claims that the monthly subvention is not even enough to pay salaries, the reason why it has not been able to pay arrears of salaries for April and May 2022.
“In the midst of these, staff of the University are struggling to put the University on the world map by training and producing graduates that are capable of competing with their contemporaries all over the world.
“Recently, the University was ranked very high, high above every other University in Cross River State, including the federal government and private universities in the State.
“One would ordinarily consider this feat, one that the State government should pride in and work hard to sustain. Unfortunately, the reverse is the case.
“Recently, the State government gave out 10,000 naira monthly palliative to her workers but ruled out UNICROSS. Again, the government has paid the salaries of all her workers for November and December 2023 but has held onto the subvention of UNICROSS without a reason.
“All efforts by the unions in the University to find out reasons why the subventions are withheld have failed and no one is willing to let the cat out of the bag.
“One would wonder why the “sweet prince” has decided to be “so bitter” with UNICROSS.
“In a season (of sweetness), when everyone is expected to show love to one another, staff of UNICROSS can not even feed their families.
“Why punish us without a reason? Do we not deserve to know at least why we are suffering this fate?”
