SSANU, NASU Suspends Strike, to Resume Work Tomorrow

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The national leadership of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has agreed to suspend its week-old industrial action.

The unions had embarked on an indefinite strike on October 27, 2024, to protest the non-payment of their withheld four months salaries by the federal government.

However, in a statement jointly signed by the General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi and SSANU president Mohammed Ibrahim the two university-based unions said that after an exhaustive meeting with representatives of the federal government, including the new Minister of Education, they have agreed to end the strike.

“These high-level engagements culminated into extracting an irrevocable commitment from the federal government that the 2 months of the 4 months withheld salaries would be paid in staggered form. One month by the end of October, 2024 (which has largely been done), then the second month to be paid by the end of November, 2024.

“Arising from the above and in view of the level of commitment exhibited by the new minister and the leadership of the Department of State Services, the leadership of JAC, after several contacts and other patriotic considerations, hereby directs that the ongoing indefinite strike be suspended for one-month effective Tuesday, 5th November, 2024”. 

The statement said that branch leaders of both NASU and SSANU are hereby directed to convene a joint congress in their respective campuses on Monday, 4th November, 2024 and intimate members of these development and urge them to resume work on Tuesday, 5th November, 2024.

“We wish to also reiterate that discussions on the remaining 2 months, the N50 billion Earned Allowances, Arrears of 25/35 per cent and the Wage Award have been revisited and are undergoing deliberations,” the statement further said.