The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) have given the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum, threatening an indefinite strike if their demands are not met.
In a joint letter dated 12 September and addressed to the Minister of Education, the unions accused the government of ignoring their grievances despite repeated reminders. The letter was signed by Mohammed Ibrahim, President of SSANU, and Prince Peters Adeyemi, President of NASU.
Their demands include the payment of withheld salaries, arrears from the recently approved 25/35 per cent salary increase, and what they described as a fairer distribution of the ₦50 billion earned allowances. They argued that non-teaching staff were short-changed in the disbursement, while workers in inter-university centres were completely excluded.
The unions also noted that although a tripartite committee was agreed upon in July to resolve the matter, no progress has been made since then. In addition, they are demanding the payment of two months of withheld salaries, which they said the minister had promised to address in July.
NASU and SSANU further accused the government of deliberately stalling the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN–NASU/SSANU agreements. They pointed out that while a renegotiation committee was inaugurated in October 2024, it has not met with them since December, whereas a similar process with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has already been concluded.
The unions warned that unless their demands are met by 15 September, they will embark on industrial action. The development comes against the backdrop of ASUU’s prolonged standoff with the Federal Government over unmet demands, heightening fears of a wider shutdown across the university system.
