The Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities has voiced concerns over the lack of official response from the Federal Government concerning its current strike.
This indefinite industrial action, which began Monday, arose from the government’s failure to disburse four months of withheld salaries, effectively paralyzing operations at universities across the country.
In a Tuesday night interview with The PUNCH, SSANU’s National Vice-President, Abdussobur Salaam, clarified the union’s stance, “There’s no update on the ongoing strike; it continues. Some informal contacts were made between the minister of state for education and our union executives, but there’s been no real progress, just an informal appeal.”
The strike, however, is not just about the withheld salaries, Salaam emphasized.
He pointed out a history of unmet promises, “This issue has persisted for a long time, with repeated promises that have not been fulfilled. All our ultimatums have expired, and we still haven’t received any payments.”
The recent call from the government, he noted, was only a casual outreach, and the unions are urging authorities to take decisive steps, “If we don’t receive our payments, we won’t back down.”
Adding to the pressure, a statement jointly signed by SSANU National President Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Prince Peters Adeyemi, released on Sunday, confirmed that an ultimatum given to the Federal Government to meet these demands had lapsed at midnight.
Both unions have demanded that the government address withheld salaries, earned allowances, improved remuneration, and implement longstanding agreements from 2009.
In response to the unions’ collective action in 2022, the Ministry of Labour and Employment enforced a “No Work, No Pay” policy for striking university-based unions, which included NASU and SSANU.
The unions, in a formal circular, gave the government a seven-day window to address their grievances, particularly concerning the nonpayment of salaries and the lapse of the Memorandum of Understanding, signed on August 20, 2022, and expiring on October 27, 2024.
The recent impasse follows a July 18, 2024, protest held by the JAC of NASU and SSANU at Unity Fountain, Abuja.
During the protest, union leaders issued a 10-day ultimatum demanding that the withheld salaries be paid, warning that a failure to meet their demands would result in a comprehensive halt to university activities nationwide.
The government’s lack of response since then, according to the unions, underscores a growing divide, intensifying the union’s resolve not to accept further empty assurances.
