…says students always bear brunt of industrial actions
Laide Raheem, Abeokuta
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the leadership of the Academic Union Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to reconsider the strike action embarked upon by the academic staff nationwide, over the delay in the payment of June salary of the academic staff.
NANS in a statement signed by its National Vice President on Inter-Campus and Gender Affairs, Akinbodunse Sileola Felicia, on Tuesday, in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said that any strike by ASUU members at this time will destabilize the stable academic calendar universities have enjoyed for the past two years.
The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday confirmed that a directive had been issued for all branches of the union nationwide to withdraw their services over the delay in the payment of June 2025 salaries to its members, citing the enforcement of the “No Pay, No Work” resolution.
ASUU branches in two federal universities, the University of Jos and the University of Abuja, have already commenced strike action in compliance with the directive.
President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, who confirmed the development to the media on Monday in Abuja, said what the institutions were doing was simply enforcing a National Executive Council (NEC) resolution of the union that any month in which salaries are delayed beyond three days, members should withdraw their services until the salaries are paid.
Akinbodunse, however, in the statement, urged ASUU to shelve the strike, noting that students are always at the receiving end anytime the academic union embarks on strike.
She further posited that rather than withdrawing their services in universities across the country, the leadership of ASUU should engage the Federal Government in order to resolve the matter without any face-off.
The National Vice President of NANS recalled that since the inception of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu-led administration, strikes by ASUU have reduced drastically and students have continued to enjoy uninterrupted academic sessions.
She expressed optimism that engaging with the Federal Government in a dialogue on the issue of delayed salary payment, will resolve the matter without the need by ASUU to down tools.
Akinbodunse added that students and their parents cannot afford any disruption in the academic calendar, particularly in the face of the economic situation, appealing to the leadership of the academic union to be considerate and abort the strike.
She, however, called on the Federal Government to address the issue of delay in the payment of salary of the university lecturers and find a lasting solution to it, in order not to reverse the academic harmony Nigerian universities have enjoyed so far under the leadership of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.