By Ola Williams, Abuja-
Nigerian universities may come to a standstill as the Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has vowed to shut down all university operations indefinitely, starting Monday.
In a joint statement released on Sunday, SSANU National President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Prince Peters Adeyemi emphasized that their ultimatum to the Federal Government expired at midnight on Sunday.
“We’ve shown immense patience,” Ibrahim said, “but our demands for withheld salaries and other rights have gone unaddressed despite repeated dialogues, deadlines, and assurances from the government.”
The unions are demanding the release of four months’ withheld salaries, better remuneration, earned allowances, and the fulfillment of agreements made with the government in 2009.
According to Adeyemi, the unions’ members “are left with no choice but to take this action” after other efforts, including warning strikes and protests, failed.
The unions criticized the government’s selective payment policy, which resulted in the partial release of withheld salaries only to academic staff.
Last year, President Bola Tinubu directed the payment of four months’ withheld wages for academic staff, but this did not extend to non-teaching staff.
“This directive was not only selective but has continued to ignore the plight of non-academic staff,” Ibrahim remarked. “Such treatment raises questions about the value placed on our roles in maintaining the university system.”
The Ministry of Labour and Employment had previously invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy following a prolonged 2022 strike by university-based unions.
In response, NASU and SSANU sent multiple letters and ultimatums to the government, urging it to meet their demands, yet with no positive outcome.In the statement, the unions called on state universities to incorporate local issues into their strike efforts.
“All NASU and SSANU branches in Federal and State Owned Universities, as well as Inter-University Centres, are directed to fully comply,” the statement read. “The strike is a united stand to reclaim our rights.”
The unions added that on Monday, branches across the country should hold joint congresses to reinforce the strike’s intent and ensure full compliance. “Our members must proceed on an indefinite, comprehensive, and total strike action without any concession,” Adeyemi stated. “This is not just a strike; it’s a clear message to the government that we will no longer accept the dismissal of our concerns.”
With SSANU members in charge of critical campus operations, the strike is expected to paralyze activities across Nigerian universities if an agreement isn’t reached soon.
