Reps Order Reinstatement, Payment of Dismissed UNICAL Workers
Hundreds of non-academic staff recruited by the University of Calabar during the 2019/2020 employment exercise may soon return to work and begin receiving salaries following a directive by the House of Representatives ordering their immediate reinstatement and inclusion on the institution’s payroll.
The directive followed the adoption of recommendations contained in a report presented by the House Committee on Public Petitions, chaired by the lawmaker representing Michika/Madagali Federal Constituency of Adamawa State, Bitrus Kwamoti. The decision marks a major breakthrough in a long-running dispute that left many affected workers without salaries despite claims that they were duly employed and had fulfilled all employment requirements.
The affected workers had petitioned the House of Representatives, alleging that although they were recruited by the university and completed the necessary documentation, they were excluded from the payroll system and denied remuneration. They told lawmakers that the situation had subjected them and their families to severe financial hardship, as they remained without income despite reporting for duty and carrying out assigned responsibilities.
The petition prompted an investigation by the House, which summoned the then Vice-Chancellor of the University of Calabar, Prof. Florence Obi, to explain the circumstances surrounding the recruitment exercise and the exclusion of the workers from the payroll. Following the intervention, the university management was directed to harmonise and process the names of the affected employees.
However, the petitioners later informed lawmakers that while academic staff recruited during the same exercise were eventually placed on the payroll, their non-academic counterparts remained excluded. This development led to further scrutiny by the House Committee on Public Petitions, which conducted a detailed investigation and subsequently submitted its findings to the Green Chamber.
In the report adopted by the House, lawmakers directed the university management to immediately regularise the appointments of all affected staff. The House specifically ordered the institution to place all duly recruited academic and non-academic employees from the 2019/2020 exercise on the payroll, in line with the verified list of 385 workers submitted to the committee.
The lawmakers also directed the university to issue staff numbers to the affected employees and forward their details for inclusion on the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS), the Federal Government’s centralised platform for salary administration across federal institutions.
The resolution is expected to bring long-awaited relief to the affected workers, many of whom have spent years seeking official recognition of their appointments and payment of their salaries and entitlements. It also underscores the National Assembly’s oversight role in addressing grievances arising from recruitment and payroll administration within federal institutions.
While the University of Calabar management has yet to publicly respond to the House resolution, stakeholders will be closely monitoring the implementation of the directives and whether the affected workers are finally integrated into the payroll system after years of uncertainty.