Two non-teaching staff unions of Nigerian public universities, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-academic Staff Union of Education and Associated Institutions (NASU) have threatened a total shutdown of the universities in the country.
The unions have given the government one week—this week—to clear the backlog of unpaid salaries for the last four months.
SSANU and NASU accuse government of neglecting an agreement made in 2022 and treating the unions with “disdain” by showing more concern about their union counterpart, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU).
Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU president, hinted that should the unions embark on the work stoppage, it would be devastating.
“We are in charge of security, we are in charge of administration, we are in charge of medicals, we are in charge of hostels, we are in charge of electricity, we are in charge of everything apart from teaching. So, once our members down tools, no university can function in Nigeria,” he said in a televised press interview on Sunday.
—Ezinwanne Onwuka reports for TruthNigeria from Abuja.
