NSUKA (Sundiata Scholar) – (Enugu State) Members of Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) at the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN) have staged a protest over four months withheld salaries by the Federal Government.
They said the warning protest on Tuesday had become necessary as all appeals and meetings with government to pay their members the withheld salaries since 2022 had failed to yield the desired result.
The SSANU members were joined by members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) under the auspices of Joint Actions Committee (JAC) in UNN.
reports that the institution’s Chairman of SSANU, Mr Linus Akata, and that of NASU, Mr Ekene Amu, led the protest.Speaking, Akata said it was unfortunate that government had refused to implement all agreements with the national JAC including the Memorandum of Action (MoA) which the Federal Government signed.He said on July 18, all the executives of SSANU and NASU in public universities would gather in Abuja to picket relevant government offices responsible for non-payment of the unions’ four-month withheld salaries.“
In several meetings government had with national JAC of SSANU and NASU, it promised several times to pay non-teaching staff in public universities the withheld four months salaries but unfortunately government has failed to match words with actions.“
Government even signed MoA with our national leaders but till today government has yet to redeem its pledge on the MoA.“Nigerians should hold government responsible if SSANU and NASU proceed to nationwide indefinite strike because government failed to do the needful,” Akata said.
He commended members of both unions of UNN for turning out in their numbers to carry out the directives of national leadership of JAC.
On his part, Amu said the protest served as a note of warning to the government as well as readiness of NASU and SSANU to proceed on indefinite nationwide strike, if government failed to do the needful.“
NASU and SSANU have explored and exhausted discussions; meetings and legal processes to avert the impending strike but government has not shown any commitment to pay withheld four months salaries as well as resolve other demands of the unions.“
I urged our members to remain resolute and steadfast as we wait further directives from national JAC on government refusal to pay our four months withheld salaries and meet our other demands,” Amu said.
The protesters marched from Margret Ekpo Convocation arena to UNN Administrative Block and ended up in UNN Freedom Square chanting solidarity songs.Some of their placards had the inscriptions “
Federal Government, pay our members withheld 4 months salaries”, “Nigerians should hold FG responsible if SSANU and NASU embark on nationwide indefinite strike in public universities.” (NAN)