The Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have initiated a statewide walkout due to what they deem to be unfair treatment and inequity in the Federal Government’s payment of withheld salary.
SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim said that “definitely, it (the strike) has already started.”
“As of today (Monday), nothing moves within the administration of any public university in Nigeria; this will remain the situation for the next seven days until and unless the necessary is done. All of our employees in the registry, bursary, works and maintenance, security, and students’ affairs have withdrawn their services.”
He bemoaned the fact that no official government representative had contacted any of the non-academic unions, and that even those who had made informal contact could not be relied upon.
Ibrahim perceived certain “saboteurs in his government” and questioned why certain government employees would partially disobey President Bola Tinubu’s directive that varsity union members receive their 2022 arrears.
The SSANU President claimed that although a seven-day warning was given last Monday, Labour Minister Nkiruka Onyejeocha has not contacted the irate unions. He described this as a change from the responsiveness of former Labour Minister Chris Ngige. Ibrahim stated that if the unions’ demands are not met by the government following today’s start of a seven-day warning strike, SSANU because it will affect everybody; there will be no electricity, water, security, student housing, and administration.”
welfare package. Following that, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari implemented a “No Work, No Pay policy” against the unions; nevertheless, Tinubu authorized the release of four of the eight months’ worth of salary that had been withheld from ASUU members last October.
Ibrahim had stated that the necessity for the action stemmed from the failure of all communication tools.
He had claimed that SSANU and NASU were being treated with contempt by the Office of the Accountant General, via the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) office, even though the President had given waivers allowing all unions that started industrial action in 2022 to be paid.
Ibrahim claimed that because the university is a chain and “you don’t treat a group different and others indifferently,” the entire incident was the result of a misalignment of priorities.
