A deadlock was witnessed at the meeting called by the Federal Government, organized through the Ministry of Education, in response to the threat posed by the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU), as reported by Vanguard.
Subsequently, the two university-based unions forming the Joint Action Committee (JAC) have instructed their members to mobilize for a protest commencing on Tuesday across their branches, citing the alleged insensitivity of the federal government to their concerns.
The JAC, made up of SSANU and NASU, previously issued a two-week ultimatum demanding the government to release four months' salaries that President Bola Tinubu had sanctioned for the four university-based unions.
Following a prolonged strike in 2022 that involved the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration enforced the 'No Work, No Pay' policy. While ASUU received payment in October of the preceding year in compliance with President Tinubu's amnesty directive, the remaining three unions have yet to receive their withheld salaries, sparking discontent and tension within university circles.
The two-week ultimatum lapsed on July 4, prompting a meeting summoned by the Minister of Education, Professor Tahir Mamman, in a bid to avert the impending strike. However, sources from Vanguard indicate that the meeting failed to yield any tangible results, as the Minister merely pledged to escalate the matter for further consideration, possibly to the President.
Expressing dissatisfaction with this outcome, the JAC of both unions have instructed all branches to conduct individual meetings on Monday to inform their members of a one-day protest scheduled for Tuesday at all branches. This will be followed by a national protest on July 18 in Abuja and ultimately a full-scale strike.
In a circular addressed to all branch chairmen of universities and inter-university centers regarding the meeting outcomes with the Ministers of Education and Labour and Employment, signed by NASU's General Secretary, Prince Peters Adeyemi, and SSANU's President, Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, the JAC emphasized that the government's commitment to resolving the four months' salary issue has been unconvincing.
The circular, titled "Outcome of the meetings held with the Minister of Education and the Minister of Labour and Employment: Directive to all branches of NASU and SSANU," recommended full participation of the branches in the planned protests.