Members of the Senior Staff Association of Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), on Monday, began a nationwide strike to protest the non-payment of four months withheld salaries by the Federal Government.
It will be recalled that the Federal Government had withheld the salaries of the university workers, following an eight-month strike in 2022, as part of the implementation of its ‘no work, no pay’ policy.
In February, the government, however, released four-month salaries of members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) without paying members of SSANU and NASU.
In protest, the unions had severally written to the Federal Government, demanding payment of the salaries, failure of which they threatened to embark on strike.
During its last Joint Action Committee (JAC) meeting in Akure, Ondo State, the unions resolved to embark on strike from Monday at the expiration of its seven-day ultimatum to the Federal Government.
National President of SSANU, Muhammed Ibrahim, in an interview on Sunday, said the unions were set for the nationwide strike.
He said, “The Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU has inundated the Federal Government with the need to pay the withheld four-month salaries of our members in federal universities and inter-university centres as done for our academic counterpart to no avail.
“As a matter of fact, the attention of Honourable Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, and Professor Tahir Mamman, the Minister of Education, was called to this injustice and unfair treatment of our members in our letter referenced JAC/NS/VOL.I/277 and dated February 13, 2024. We called on them to resolve the issue positively before it leads to an unnecessary upheaval in our university sector.
“In a similar vein, a press release was issued on March 1, 2024 and the Federal Government was given a seven-day ultimatum to do the needful in respect of the payment of the withheld four months’ salaries but nothing was done on the matter.
“Having waited patiently for the ultimatum to expire without any positive response from the government, this is to direct our members in the universities and inter-university centres throughout the country to commence a seven-day warning strike effective Monday, March 18, 2024 in the first instance.”
Meanwhile, academic activities were disrupted in universities across the country, following the strike by members of SSANU and NASU.
At the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN) and the Enugu campus, the strike affected ongoing examinations at both campuses of the university.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), students who were sitting for examinations earlier were allowed to finish while those who started their afternoon papers were chased out of the classrooms and stopped from writing their exams.
The striking members also closed many offices including those of Students Affairs and others.
Some of the students lamented the effects of the strike in their studies.
Addressing members during an emergency congress at UNN, Dr Linus Akata, chairman of SSANU-UNN, in company with Comrade Ekene Amu, chairman of NASU-UNN, said the strike would be total and comprehensive in UNN, in total adherence and compliance to the directive of the national leadership.
He said all the administrative offices and essentials service sections of the university were already under lock and key.
The union leader warned that the unions would deal decisively with any member found defaulting or sabotaging the seven-day warning strike.
At the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife, Osun State and Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State, the institutions’ branches of SSANU and NASU, in compliance with directive of its national bodies, locked the main gates, preventing entry and exit of vehicles on the campuses.
According to NAN, lecture halls and offices were also locked, hindering academic activities by lecturers who earlier had been paid their arrears.
In separate interviews, the chairmen of SSANU in the institutions, Taiwo Arobadi and Felix Adubi, respectively, said the unions’ action was in compliance with the directive of its national bodies.
The chairmen said all their members in registry, bursary, works, maintenance, security and student affairs had withdrawn their services.
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