By Gabriel Dike, Lagos
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) on Tuesday commenced its promised warning strike, crippling administrative activities in public universities, to compel the Federal Government to implement its demands.
The warning strike saw senior staff at the University of Lagos (UNILAG), Akoka, holding a protest at the main gate with placards urging the government to take necessary action.
The Vice President of SSANU, South West, Comrade Abdussobor Salaam, told *Daily Sun* at the UNILAG protest that reports from federal and state universities indicated full compliance with the strike.
Salaam said SSANU members were unhappy with the Federal Government for not implementing the 2009 agreement and for withholding salaries despite several promises.
“We signed an agreement with the Federal Government in 2009, but only about five items were implemented. And we have been involved in endless discussions. The agreement provides for a review every two years, which has not been done,” Salaam said.
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“We were invited in August 2022 after our national strike and signed a non-victimisation clause, but our members’ salaries were stopped. Our staff union members were paid for four months,” he added.
He disclosed that during a meeting with the Minister of Education, the minister confirmed that stopping SSANU members’ salaries was an error that would be rectified.
Salaam said that last week, SSANU met with the education minister, who informed them that he had sent a memo to the president in March regarding the withheld salaries.
The vice president revealed that on 18 July, SSANU would hold a national protest in Abuja and picket some strategic government offices. He added that if the Federal Government failed to meet their demands, the union would embark on a national strike.
Salaam told *Daily Sun* that reports from federal and state universities indicated that branches had complied with the National Executive Council (NEC) directive on the strike.