Today, Monday, members of the Non-Academic Staff Union and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities launched a nationwide strike against the Federal Government on the grounds of perceived discrimination and inequity in salary distribution.
Last Monday, the unions threatened to cut off electricity and hostels in college campuses nationwide if the federal government did not accede to their demands by today, March 18, 2024.
The Vice Chancellors, Registrars, and Bursars among the members of SSANU, according to National President Muhammad Ibrahim, have not received their 2022 arrears.
Ibrahim told newsmen on Sunday that the two unions had decided to go on strike across the country.
Prof. Tahir Mamman, the minister of education, said he was not aware of the SSANU/NASU planned walkout.
Nonetheless, Ibrahim announced that the strike had begun on Channels Television’s ‘Morning Show’ program.
“Definitely, it (the strike) has already started
“As of today (Monday), all our workers in registry, bursary, works and maintenance, security, and students’ affairs have withdrawn their services and nothing moves within the administration of any public university in Nigeria and that will be the case for the next seven days until and unless the needful is done,” he stated.
The president of SSANU emphasized that no government representative has contacted non-academic unions, although some have done so informally; however, their promises cannot be depended on.
He questioned why certain public servants would not completely carry out President Bola Tinubu’s directive to settle 2022 arrears.
He continued by saying that despite giving the unions seven-day notice last Monday, Nkiruka Onyejeocha, the minister of labor, had not gotten in touch with them.
He claimed that this was different from how receptive the former labor minister, Chris Ngige, had been.
He made it clear that if the government did not respond to the unions’ requests following today’s start of a seven-day warning strike, the unions would return to their cabinet and determine what to do next.
