THE Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), under the Joint Action Committee (JAC), on Thursday, held a nationwide protest to demand the immediate implementation of long-standing agreements reached with the Federal Government.
The demonstration, which took place at the Yakubu Gowon University (formerly the University of Abuja), was simultaneously held across various university campuses nationwide.
According to reports, the unions held protests in Abuja, Lagos and Kwara state.
The protest followed Wednesday’s emergency branch congresses across campuses after both unions directed their members to mobilise for what they described as a “massive one-day protest” against the government’s inaction.
In a circular dated October 6, titled “Commencement of Protest Actions” and jointly signed by NASU General Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, and SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim, the unions had directed all branches in federal and state-owned universities to fully participate in the action.
According to the circular, the decision followed a series of unproductive meetings with the Joint Consultative Committee set up by the Minister of Education to address their demands. The committee, which met twice, on September 19 and October 6, 2025, failed to achieve any significant progress despite extensions of previous ultimatums.
The unions said they had initially issued a seven-day strike notice on September 15, which was later extended by two weeks, but no resolution was reached by the October 6 deadline.
At the Abuja protest venue, SSANU Chairman of Yakubu Gowon University, Comrade Nurudeen Yusuf, and NASU Chairperson, Sadiya Ibrahim Hassan, accused the government of neglect, insincerity, and breaching collective agreements since 2022.
Yusuf, while addressing journalists, said the protest became necessary after “several appeals, warnings, and ultimatums” to the government were ignored.
“This gathering aims to shed light on the escalating crisis in the university sector impacting our members. Regrettably, the government’s unfulfilled promises have necessitated this public statement to caution all stakeholders in our universities and inter-university centres, as the status quo is unsustainable for our educational system due to the government’s insincerity about the plight of members of NASU and SSANU,” Yusuf was quoted to have said.
NASU Chairperson, Sadiya Hassan, criticised the government’s approach of setting up new committees instead of implementing existing recommendations, saying it had deepened mistrust between both sides.
“The last meeting we had with the government was on October 6, following an earlier one on September 22, instead of addressing the issues, another committee was set up called the Expanded Yayale Ahmed Committee.
“These issues do not require new committees. The government already has all the facts and figures. The first step should be to release the withheld salaries and arrears as a show of good faith,” she explained.
Demands
The unions’ demands include what they described as the unfair sharing of the ₦50 billion earned allowances, prolonged delays in renegotiating the 2009 FGN/NASU/SSANU agreements, and the non-payment of two months’ outstanding salaries.
They also pointed to unpaid arrears from the 25 and 35 per cent salary increments, along with the government’s failure to remit third-party deductions for May and June 2022.
Others are non-payment of the two months’ withheld salaries from 2022, failure to remit third-party deductions, and the alleged government’s neglect of the welfare of non-teaching university staff.
Nigerian universities face shutdown
The development came amid growing discontent within the academic community. Earlier in the week, on October 6, Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) president Chris Piwuna, in a letter to all branches, mobilised branches for strike as its ultimatum to the government enters its final week.
He noted that despite earlier engagements with the Ministers of Labour and Education, there had been no meaningful progress on issues such as the implementation of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, revitalisation funding for public universities, and the payment of earned academic allowances and withheld salaries.
ASUU warned that failure by the government to act could trigger the first industrial action under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Mustapha Usman is an investigative journalist with the International Centre for Investigative Reporting. You can easily reach him via: musman@icirnigeria.com. He tweets @UsmanMustapha_M