The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) have threatened a nationwide strike, giving the Federal Government a seven-day ultimatum to resolve outstanding welfare issues.
In a joint letter signed by SSANU President, Muhammed Ibrahim, the unions condemned what they described as the “unjust disbursement of earned allowances, non-payment of withheld salaries, and failure to implement agreed salary increments,” among other grievances.
The unions recalled that their Joint Action Committee (JAC) had previously raised these concerns in a letter dated June 18, 2025, which led to a meeting with the Minister of Education on July 4. At the meeting, it was agreed that a Tripartite Committee—comprising the Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, and JAC—would address complaints over the skewed allocation of the N50 billion earned allowances.
According to the unions, while academic staff received the bulk of the funds, non-teaching staff were sidelined, with those in Inter-University Centres excluded entirely. They also accused the government of failing to act on commitments to settle withheld salaries and arrears from the 25/35 per cent salary increment.
On the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/NASU/SSANU agreement, the unions noted that although a committee led by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed was inaugurated in October 2024, only one meeting had been held with JAC in December of that year. Since then, the government team has gone silent, even as negotiations with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have been concluded.
“Despite reminders, including a letter dated August 18, 2025, the government has refused to act. In light of this, we are left with no option but to issue this seven-day notice effective September 15, 2025. Failure to address our demands will leave us with no choice but to embark on a series of industrial actions,” the unions declared.
SSANU President Ibrahim, in a separate remark, warned that the looming strike could severely disrupt the university system.
“Ours will not be the mother of all strikes; it will be the grandfather of all strikes. When SSANU or NASU down tools, the impact is enormous. University workers have been left financially, economically, and psychologically battered,” he said.
SSANU and NASU, like their academic counterparts in ASUU, have had longstanding disputes with the government over welfare and conditions of service, raising fears of another major shutdown in the nation’s universities.
