Education

Strike looms in universities as unions give 7-day ultimatum over unpaid salaries

Published

1 year ago

March 3, 2024

Nigerian University

Strike looms in universities as unions give 7-day ultimatum over unpaid salaries

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has issued a one-week ultimatum for the federal government to pay the unions’ members’ withheld salaries or risk an industrial action.

This is as the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) also has asked the government to pay its members the remaining part of their withheld salaries.

In a statement jointly signed by SSANU President, Mohammed Ibrahim, and NASU Secretary, Peters Adeyemi, the workers asked the government to pay the withheld salaries like their academic counterparts who were paid four months out of the arrears of several months.

JAC said it had written protest letters to the Chief of Staff to President Bola Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, over the exclusion of the non-academic staff when the government decided to pay part of the withheld salaries but that the letters were not responded to two weeks after it was submitted.

“We, therefore, use this opportunity once again to call on the federal government to do the needful within the next seven days as the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU should not be held responsible should the wheel of administration and corporate governance be grounded to a halt in the university sector, as we have exercised enough patience,” part of the statement reads.

The statement added: “If nothing is done by the federal government to positively address this situation and respond to our previous letters to them, the members of the two unions may be forced to meet soon to take all lawful and stringent decisions on the matter.”

JAC said it had done everything possible within its power to prevail on its members to maintain industrial peace and tranquility.

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“While we appreciate the federal government for paying our academic counterpart, we also deem it necessary that our members are also paid,” the statement said, adding that the unions can no longer guarantee industrial harmony on the campuses should the government fail to pay them.

In 2022, two months after ASUU commenced a nationwide strike, both SSANU and NASU also embarked on nationwide industrial action that further crippled activities across the campuses.

The action was to protest the government’s failure to fulfill its promises to the workers and what they described as gross underfunding of the universities.

At the time, the former administration of President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy and withheld the workers’ salaries.

The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) also took part in the strike at the time.

SSANU queried the rationale behind the government’s insistence on the “no work, no pay policy,” saying that due process was followed before embarking on the strike that lasted for four months. Till the end of his tenure, Buhari never authorised the payment of the workers.

However, in October 2023, Tinubu announced that his government would pay four months of the withheld salaries to members of ASUU, immediately raising concerns as to the fate of the members of the other unions.

The National Vice President of SSANU, Abdussobur Salaam, said at the time that the directive appeared to be selective in favour of a single union out of others whose members’ salaries were withheld.

He said the president’s directive if not reviewed to include SSANU and other unions could be a recipe for disaster as he threatened another round of strikes if SSANU members’ withheld salaries were not paid alongside that of ASUU.

Meanwhile, CONUA has asked the federal government to pay its members the remaining part of their withheld salaries.

The academic union, a breakaway from the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) asked the government to stop lumping up its members’ issues with those of ASUU members, saying its members had consistently denied being on strike while the ASUU strike lasted in 2022.

The latest position is contained in a statement issued by CONUA and signed by its National President, ‘Niyi Sunmonu, who commended President Tinubu for paying four months from the almost eight months’ withheld salaries of universities’ academic staff.

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The statement titled: ‘State of the Nation, Payment of Four Months out of Seven and a Half Months’ Withheld Salaries, Stagnation of Remuneration of Academics, and Call for Negotiations,” CONUA urged the President to speed up his efforts and interventions aimed at repositioning the country for good and to address the pains of the poor due to economic hardship.

The statement reads in part: “Our union, CONUA, has consistently maintained that it never declared and was not part of any strike action.

“Since CONUA neither called for nor joined any strike, withholding the three and a half months salaries of members of the union contravenes Section 43 (1b) of the Trade Disputes Act CAP. T8, which states that “where any employer locks out his workers, the workers shall be entitled to wages and any other applicable remunerations for the period of the lock-out and the period of the lock-out shall not prejudicially affect any rights of the workers being rights dependent on the continuity of the period of employment”. This provision is consistent with global best practices. In conclusion on this, CONUA demands that the process of paying these outstanding months be kick-started immediately to ensure lasting peace in our ivory towers.”

In 2022, the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy and withheld the workers’ salaries during the eight-month strike.

The workers’ unions that had their members’ salaries withheld at the time include ASUU and CONUA.

Others are: NASU, SSANU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

However, in October, Tinubu announced that his government would pay four of the withheld salaries to members of ASUU, immediately raising concerns as to the fate of the members of the other unions.

Last week, the federal government began paying the academics – ASUU and CONUA – leaving out the non-academic staff.

Strike looms in universities as unions give 7-day ultimatum over unpaid salaries

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Over 40 persons have been arrested and are facing prosecution for impersonating candidates during the ongoing 2025 Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME), the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has disclosed.

This comes as many parents and guardians express concern that the 6.30 a.m. resumption time for the exam was too early for candidates, adding that many may have to drive several miles to their examination sites.

The 2025 UTME, which began on Thursday, April 24, will run until Monday, May 5.

According to JAMB, over 2,030,627 students are taking this year’s exam at authorised computer-based test centres across the nation.

A mother of a candidate who claimed to live in Awoyaya, Lekki, Lagos, but whose 14-year-old son was assigned to a centre in Ikorodu, stated that the young guy may miss the exam due to time constraints.

“The examination slip states that candidates are expected at the centre by 6.30am. So, that means my son must be on the road by 4 am. I don’t drive. We don’t have a car. He would have to take a bus. Even if I decide to go with him, how are we supposed to get a bus at that time, and how are we supposed to get to Ikorodu before 6.30am?

“This is wickedness. JAMB should look into this and move the exam forward. 6.30am for an examination is too early.”

Olaoluwa Yinka, a guardian, lamenting on X, wrote, “My younger sister has just travelled today for her UTME tomorrow morning. From Abeokuta, she was sent to Ijebu Igbo by 6.30am. This is very absurd.

“When I wrote JAMB, I did so around 9 am and the heavens did not fall. This CBT is the problem. Students get to the centre, and sometimes the systems don’t work as well.”

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Social media activist, Rinu Oduala, in a statement on X, wrote, “Again, why are you scheduling exams for 6.30am, @JAMBHQ? And expect teenagers to find their ways 50km plus away from home? How can educated people make nonsensical policies for citizens and kids in this country? Does it make any sense?”

A mother, Nnem Chacha-Gold, told this reporter on Saturday that her only daughter had to leave the house at 4.30 a.m. to travel to her exam venue by 6.30 a.m.

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Meanwhile, Esther Oladele, a young female candidate aged 16, was claimed to have lost her way to her centre.

Richard, claiming to be her brother, stated that she travelled from Ajah to Epe on Thursday, April 24, but mistakenly boarded the wrong bus.

The post read, “It’s been almost 24 hours since we haven’t heard from my sister. She was going to Epe from Ajah around 1 pm yesterday (Thursday) for her UTME. The last message she sent to us reads thus: ‘I’m scared. I think I entered the wrong car, and my eyes are itchy. E be like say I want to sleep.”

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This spurred numerous X users to initiate a search online, notifying the authorities to look for the young lady.

After nearly 48 hours, Richard returned to X to confirm that Esther had been discovered in Ijebu Ode, Ogun State.

Esther’s picture leaked online, showing her in garish apparel and with messy hair.

The flier read, “We are overjoyed to share that Esther is home safe and sound! Words cannot express our gratitude to everyone who played a part in bringing her back. Your reposts, prayers, and unwavering support gave us strength and hope throughout this difficult time. We are eternally grateful for the kindness and compassion of our community.”

Despite the board’s efforts to sanitise the examination process, Benjamin expressed concern about impersonation.

He noted that while other countries have successfully conducted remote exams, Nigeria’s current context makes such an innovation impractical.

“If Nigerians want comfort, let us behave very well. If we are transparent, we can do these CBT exams at home and submit them online. We will just send questions to them, and they will answer and send them back to us. Then, we will grade and send them back the results,” Benjamin said.

“But, you know what will happen if we try to do that. Several countries are doing their central examinations from home. But, can we do that in Nigeria,” he added.

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The Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB) has delisted four Computer-Based Testing (CBT) Centres and arrested 27 impersonators during the ongoing Unified Tertiary Matriculation Examination (UTME).

This is contained in a statement issued to newsmen in Abuja yesterday by the Board’s Spokesperson, Dr Fabian Benjamin.

He explained that the CBT centres were delisted for failing to meet the stringent technical standards required for the ongoing UTME.

Benjamin said the delisted centres include Adventure Associate, located behind Sheshe Supermarket off Hadejia Road, Kano, Kano State, and Saadatu Rimi College of Education, Zaria Road, Naibawa, Kano, Kano State.

Also delisted are Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd., Centre 2, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal, and Penta M & F Technical Services Ltd., Centre 1, 96km Sokoto-Jega Road, Tambuwal.

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“While JAMB commends the 883 centres that have demonstrated exceptional performance, it unequivocally warns that any centre failing to meet ethical or technical standards, regardless of ownership, will be blacklisted,” he stated.

Benjamin urged candidates who were previously scheduled to take their exams at the delisted centres to urgently reprint their examination notification slips to access their new centres and rescheduled dates.

“We regret any inconvenience this may cause, but we will not tolerate excuses from candidates who fail to reprint their slips.

“As of Friday, April 25, 2025, more than 900,000 candidates had successfully completed the UTME, out of the 2,083,600 registered for the 2025 examination,” he added.

In a related development, Benjamin reported the arrest of 27 impersonators who were handed over to the Nigeria Police for immediate prosecution.