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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has said it will be embarking on a seven-day warning strike starting on March 18, over the Federal Government failure to pay its members the four months withheld salaries.
President Bola Tinubu had ordered that public university employees who went on a protracted strike in 2022 but were not paid by the former president Muhammadu Buhari’s administration be compensated for four months.
The three unions representing non-teaching staff have not yet received payment, despite the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation having paid the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) the four months as instructed by the president.
SSANU members unanimously approved a seven-day strike during the union’s 47th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Ondo State. The union said an immediate indefinite strike would take place if the government failed to pay its members.
SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, said: “What played out at today’s meeting clearly is that members have unanimously resolved they will not accept this injustice meted on us, because there is no explanation that can scientifically or naturally be given to anyone as to why one group of our staff is paid and then the other three groups are not.
“Therefore, we have given the next one week where members will go back to their branches and sensitise our members. This time around, it is going to be a total strike. For seven days, there will be no water, no electricity, no medicals, no office work. Everybody will leave his office work until for seven days.
“However, we are hopeful, we are prayerful that government listens and then does the needful because we also know we have a responsibility for the society, for the university and for our students. So, nobody should blame us if this thing happens, because we have given enough notices, we have made enough sensitisation and we have contacted enough stakeholders.
“So it is going to be total, it is going to be total black out in our campuses all through Nigeria during the seven days until when that money is paid.”
