Victoria Mbangwa
The Federal Government has been handed a fresh two-week deadline by non-academic staff in universities, who say they are running out of patience over unpaid allowances and unresolved welfare issues.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) confirmed on Tuesday that it has extended its strike ultimatum following inconclusive talks with government officials.
The unions, in a letter signed by SSANU President Muhammed Ibrahim, said the extension was necessary after a consultative meeting with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, and other stakeholders last week failed to yield concrete results.
“While the government has opened discussions, our demands remain unresolved. If the government fails to do the needful within this extended period, the JAC will summarily proceed with a series of legitimate industrial actions upon expiration of the extension,” the unions stated.
The core issues, according to the unions, include what they described as the unfair allocation of earned allowances in universities, outstanding arrears of allowances, and other pending welfare matters.
The agitation, first raised in a letter to the Minister of Education in June, has since triggered a series of meetings with government representatives. However, union leaders insist the government has dragged its feet, risking another wave of disruptions in Nigeria’s already fragile tertiary education system.
