The Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have written to the Honourable Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, demanding the immediate payment of four months’ worth of withheld salaries.
In the letter, the unions state that the salaries were withheld between May and August 2022, despite series of letters and assurances from the government regarding the payment. The unions express “regrets and dismay” that the salaries have not been paid to their members to date.
The unions view the government’s deafening silence and failure to pay the withheld salaries as an “act of insincerity and neglect” that negates the spirit of collective bargaining and builds distrust. They warn that the situation is creating high levels of agitation and discontent among their members on university campuses, to the point where they can no longer guarantee industrial peace and harmony.
The unions have therefore demanded that the four months’ worth of withheld salaries be paid to their members within two weeks, failing which they will be “left with no option than to shut down the Universities and Inter-University Centres.”
The Honourable Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, is yet to publicly respond to the unions’ demands. Education stakeholders await the government’s next move in this unfolding situation.
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