Nigerian Universities Set For More Crises As SSANU, NASU, NAT Meet On Strike

Three major non-academic staff unions will decide on
Wednesday whether to join the strike by Universities lecturers.Three major non-academic staff unions will decide on
Wednesday whether to join the strike by Universities lecturers. 

 

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities,
SSANU will meet with the Non-Academic Staff Union
of Universities, NASU, and the Non-Academic
Technicians, NAT, on Wednesday in Abuja to decide
on whether to join the ongoing industrial action by the
Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, an official told Sources.
Abdulsubur Salaam, the National Public Relations
Officer of SSANU, said during an interview on Sunday
that the associations have been “pushed to the wall” by the Nigerian government.
“The federal government has been discussing with
the academics but we have been reaching out to
them since before now and they have refused to heed
to us,” Mr. Salaam said. The official listed some of the problems the unions had with the government.
“The issue of staff school that is being negotiated and we are not carried along was agreed on by the
four unions in Nigerian varsities; our earned
allowances have not been paid too and branches are
really heaping pressure on us, especially on the staff
school issue. “So full blown strike may be inevitable
as at now. However, we would take that meeting on
Wednesday and make a decision on this there.”
The ASUU had embarked on a nationwide strike last
Monday over demands for improved funding of
universities and welfare of lecturers. A meeting
between the union and the Nigerian government last
Thursday ended in a deadlock.
But an optimistic Adamu Adamu, the Education
Minister, said the strike could be called off within once week.