Strike Looms as NASU, SSANU Protest Unmet 2009 Agreement

By Akemini Udoh

Members of the Non-Academic Staff Union Educational and Associated Institution (NASU) and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) UNILAG Chapter, staged a peaceful protest at the university.

This comes after the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of NASU and SSANU, in a press statement released on Thursday, October 9, announced its intention to embark on a national protest.

The Chairman of the SSANU at UNILAG, Dr. Rasak Ademola Yusuf, told the UNILAG Sun that the Federal Government (FG) has failed to implement the terms of the 2009 agreement it made with both unions

This unfulfilled promise, he explained, is the core issue driving its recent nationwide protest.

He said the protest became necessary to call the attention of the FG to address and satisfy its five-point demand.

These demands include the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN and NASU-SSANU agreement, non-payment of 25/35% salary increments, unjust disbursement of ₦50 billion earned allowances, non-payment of outstanding withheld salaries, and non-payment of third-party deductions of May–June 2022 salary.

Dr. Rasak added that if their demands were not met, they would proceed to embark on a total industrial action that may lead to a total shutdown of the university system.

“That is why we are calling on the Federal Government to immediately, without further delay, answer our demands. Otherwise, there is going to be a full-blown strike throughout the federation,” Yusuf said.

The aggrieved workers came out in their numbers, carrying placards and chanting solidarity songs, calling on the FG and other key stakeholders to meet their demands urgently.