Crisis brews between Edo NUT, ALGON over transport grants

CRISIS is brewing between members of the Nigeria Union of Teachers, NUT and the Association of Local Government of Nigeria, ALGON, in Edo State over alleged removal of the Leave Transport Grants, LTG and annual increment in salaries of primary school teachers.
NUT described the action as illegal and vowed to resist any attempt to deprive them of their lawful earnings. But ALGON, through its chairman in the state, Mrs Itohan Osahon-Ogbeide, described the allegation as untrue, saying that the removal was temporarily done due to the dwindling revenue from the Federation Account, adding that arrears of the grant would be paid when the allocation improves. However, in a communique weekend, after its emergency meeting, NUT’s state chairman, Mr Mike Uhunmwangho and the Secretary, Akin Adeojo, alleged that the removal was a conspiracy between ALGON and the state Ministry of Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs. It lamented that the situation was presently delaying the payment of January salaries to primary school teachers in the state, saying “the Ministry of Local Government unlawfully wrote to the Managing Director of Information and Communication Technology Agency, ICTA, to adjust forthwith the payrolls of primary school teachers by removing the LTG and incremental. “The NUT was not involved in or consulted in respect of any decision to expunge lawful items from the salary payrolls of teachers.” Meanwhile, ALGON said that the LTG and annual increment had not been removed from the salaries of primary school teachers but only suspended in the face of dwindling allocation from the federal revenue. Mrs Osahon-Ogbeide, said the suspension was the only way to guarantee the regular payment of salaries to primary school teachers in Edo State.