…‘Varsity recruits 200 without due process’

Another report from the university also alleged that the management lately went on selective recruitment spree of over 200 “non-essential staff.”
Sources within the academic circles said the recruitment was carried out at a time when the university had lost accreditation in key disciplines including English, physics, chemistry, psychology and biosciences.
The development has also negatively affected the payment of salaries and other entitlements of the university workers, according to sources.
The only option left to the management according to an internal circular by the Bursar, is for staff to receive their salary in fractions.
Daily Trust learnt reliably that salaries for March were paid on Wednesday but not in full as the circular from the bursar indicated.
Our correspondents report that the staff are mobilising to resist the move.
“Mutual suspicion between management and staff is palpable and anything under the circumstance is possible,” a source said preferring not to be named. 
“The representatives of the budget office told us that the shortfall in staff salaries of the university currently being experienced will end when the 2016 budget is passed by the National Assembly,” he said.
According to him, the arrears occasioned by the shortfall would be paid thereafter and urged the university staff to bear the situation.
The university, in a memo to all staff signed by Mrs. F.O. Balogun for the Vice Chancellor, said the decision was taken after a meeting of the management with staff unions on the issue.
Varsity reacts
The spokesperson of university of Abuja Waziri Garba confirmed that there is wide range of allegation made by some people and that the university is investigating the matter.
Garba said: “There was a petition on some irregularities not necessarily on finances, so the vice Chancellor has set up a committee to look into the issues and they have just started. The committee is looking at the matter , it is not an internal petition, it was written from outside so at this stage one cannot say what is the position and we cannot say anything much until the findings are out,” he said.
On the issue of illegal recruitment done by the university, he said he is not aware of any of such recruitment.
Speaking on the issue of salaries not paid in full due to the illegal recruitment, he explained that the issue of substantive salaries did not start now as the varsity has been faced with that for long now.
“That salary is delayed because of illegal recruitment is not true, I do not accept that it is because of any recruitment, they are just capitalising on that one to try to create impression of something bad,” he said.
He noted that salaries were paid, only that some of the allowances like overtime, medicals were not paid saying “with the general economic downturn the university felt suspending some of those allowances for some time and paying the normal salaries and the necessary allowances its not that they paid half salary but will pay when they get money.
He said the university wrote to the community on that issue saying the allowances will be suspended for some time and the union said the varsity must go and look for money to pay them.
The junior staff, according to him, are the ones affected by the cut and could be the reason for the outcry.