According to the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the union would not abandon its intention to start a nationwide strike in response to the Federal Government’s failure to meet its demands.
SSANU President Mohammed Ibrahim said this during an interview that aired on Channels Television’s Politics on Monday
Staff unions nationwide vowed to turn off the hostels electricity and power supplies in universities before Monday, March 18 2024, if the federal government did not accede to their demands.
The SSANU President made it known that the arrears for 2022 have not been paid to any of his members, including vice chancellors, registrars and bursars.
Ibrahim stated ” Its pretty terrible to make this difficult decision adding that several universities are still holding their semesters session. While some of us also have kids enrolled in these schools, everything is put on hold when we strike.
The President of SSANU criticized the Federal Government for compensating the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) for payments that were withheld, while SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) were left out.
He claimed that despite the President’s waivers requiring payment to all unions that began industrial action in 2022, the Accountant General’s office, through the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS) office, has been treating SSANU and NASU with contempt.
Ibrahim claimed that because the university is a chain, “you don’t treat a group different and others indifferently,” and he therefore attributed the crisis to a misalignment of priorities.
Earlier on Monday, SSANU and NASU announced a seven-day warning strike that would go into action on March 18, 2024, in protest of not being paid the withheld four months’ salaries of their members.
