The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has expressed its readiness to initiate a nationwide university shutdown should the Federal Government fail to address the issue of their unpaid salaries.
This announcement follows the government’s decision to exclude SSANU members from the recent payment of withheld salaries, a move exclusively benefiting the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Professor Gbolahan Bolarin, the chairperson of ASUU at the Federal University of Technology, Minna, confirmed the commencement of ASUU’s salary payments, stating, “Yes, it is true. Payment has started rolling in.”
The withheld salaries issue dates back to 2022, when the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari applied a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ during an eight-month strike involving ASUU and SSANU.
In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu authorized the release of four of the eight months’ worth of ASUU’s withheld salaries.
Reacting to the development, SSANU’s National President, Mr. Mohammed Ibrahim, expressed his disappointment in an interview with The PUNCH. He emphasized the unfairness of the situation, clarifying that SSANU harbors no resentment towards ASUU’s payment but insists on equal treatment.
“This is just terrible, we found out that only ASUU’s payment was approved. As it is, there is tension on all the campuses. We are not angry that they are paying ASUU, but they should know that it is not only ASUU that went on strike,” Ibrahim stated.
He further cautioned about the potential unrest in universities if SSANU’s demands remain unmet, despite their appeals to the Chief of Staff, Minister of Education, and the Nigeria Labour Congress. “Why should our case be different? The government should pay everyone who works in the university. We can’t guarantee continuous peace in our universities… There is a palpable danger if SSANU are not paid their backlog,” he added.
Ibrahim also confirmed from the office of the Accountant General and IPPIS that only ASUU’s salaries were approved for payment, with SSANU conspicuously excluded.
A crucial meeting of SSANU members is scheduled to deliberate on their next course of action. “Our members will meet tonight, or tomorrow morning to decide. We are under pressure; this is a clear injustice as no university can operate without the non-teaching staff,” Ibrahim revealed.
Abdussobur Salaam, National Vice-President of SSANU, also commented on the situation. He stated, “The Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU should therefore not be held responsible should the wheel of administration and corporate governance be grounded to a halt, as we have exercised enough patience with the government, especially in the face of the harsh economic conditions occasioned by policies of the current administration led by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
Meanwhile, ASUU’s Abuja zone has mourned the loss of several members, attributing their deaths to financial hardships and poor working conditions.
A statement from the union highlighted the deaths of 46 academics across various universities, including the recent passing of Professor Johnson Oyero from the Federal University of Technology, Minna, due to inadequate healthcare access.
Credit: The Punch
