Nigeria: (VIDEO) SSANU, NASU Stage Nationwide Protests Demanding Release of Withheld Salaries

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On Tuesday, members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) staged nationwide protests across public university campuses, demanding the immediate release of their withheld salaries.

Carrying placards with various inscriptions, the aggrieved workers marched around university campuses, urging the Federal Government to release their withheld salaries and address other outstanding demands. At the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), in Imo State, and at the University of Ilorin in Kwara State, workers expressed their dissatisfaction, calling on political leaders to reduce governance costs and curtail their opulent lifestyles to meet the workers’ financial needs.

After holding a congress, SSANU and NASU members at these universities rallied across campuses, questioning why the Federal Government has failed to meet their demands since 2009. The leaders emphasized the urgency of the situation to prevent a complete breakdown of university education nationwide.

The protests were not limited to these locations; similar demonstrations occurred at the University of Abuja in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) and other public universities across the country. NASU National President Makolo Hassan confirmed on Monday that the demonstrations would proceed as planned, citing the Federal Government’s failure to address their demands following a warning strike months earlier.

Tuesday’s protests followed the expiration of a two-week ultimatum issued by NASU and SSANU to the Federal Government in June. In March, the unions had embarked on a one-week warning strike to protest the withholding of eight months’ salaries by the Federal Government. The warning strike brought administrative activities within public universities to a halt, with hostels and varsity gates locked and electricity supply cut off by disgruntled non-academic staff.

The unions criticized the Federal Government for paying withheld salaries to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while neglecting non-academic unions. Following an eight-month strike in 2022 to demand better welfare packages, the government invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay policy’ against the unions. President Bola Tinubu later approved the release of four months’ withheld salaries to ASUU members in October.

SSANU and NASU have accused the Federal Government of unfair treatment and discrimination by failing to pay them similarly to their academic counterparts. Education Minister Tahir Mamman had attributed the non-payment of SSANU and NASU members to a “communication problem,” insisting that they were not discriminated against. Mamman promised that non-academic staff would receive half of their withheld salaries upon the President’s approval, but SSANU and NASU members have yet to see any payments three months after the minister’s assurance.