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From Adanna Nnamani, Abuja
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, (SSANU), says 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.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had ordered that public university employees who went on a protracted strike in 2022 but were not paid by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration during that time 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, or ASUU, for the whole 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, held at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, FUTA, Ondo State. Should the government persist, an immediate indefinite strike would take place.
Speaking after the decision was taken, the SSANU President, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim said, “What played out at today’s meeting clearly is that members have unanimously resolved that 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 left.
“Therefore, we have given the next one week where members will go back to their branches and sensitize 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 when those seven days reach.
“However, we are hopeful, we are prayerful that government listens and then does the needful because we also know that 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 sensitization and we have contacted enough stakeholders.
“So it’s going to be total, it is going to be total black out in our campuses all through Nigeria. In those seven days until when that money is paid.”
