UNILAG SSANU Elects Substantive New Officers After 9-yr Legal Tussles

After almost a decade of not having substantive officers duly elected due to litigations, the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) of the University of Lagos (UNILAG) has finally elected its new officers into different roles according to the exant law.

Members of UNILAG SSANU, on Thursday, July 31, 2025, voted in a civic exercise, which lasted from morning till 2pm, a development monitored by our correspondent.

The announced results by the chairman of UNILAG SSANU branch Credentials Committee are included Chairman: Comrade Ademola Rasak Yusuf; the Vice Chairman is Comrade Mojisola Monsurat Adebayo; the elected Secretary of SSANU is Dr Oluwasanmi Akinyera; Treasurer is Comrade Ismaila Idowu Raji; Financial Secretary is Comrade Amaechi Romanus, and the Assistant Secretary is Comrade Olaotan.

The election exercise was monitored by the national executives of SSANU led by its Vice President (South-West),
Dr Abdussobur Salaam.

Dr Salaam, who spoke exclusively to LEADERSHIP Newspaper, noted that UNILAG had faced protracted battles that had to be settled in court and therefore had no elected officers for years with on those in acting capacity in place.

The Senor Staff and Deputy Registrar from Federal University of Agriculture Abeokuta (FUNAAB) said the election reflected that UNILAG branch of SSANU was ready to have a peaceful transition and move on.

Dr Salaam observed that the federal government had not honoured the 2019 agreement it had with the union and has continually undermined the power of SSANU at all levels. He added that the renumeration of members of SSANU was grossly poor and undeserving and if the members of the body consisting of senior officers of the non-teaching staff of public Universities across the country were paid commensurate to their counterparts in South Africa and other African countries, there would not be a brain drain in Nigeria.

“SSANU being the largest union in federal and state universities have been undermined by both the federal and state governments. The medical doctors and nurses in the university medical centres are members of SSANU as well as the registrars, bursars, head of security, utility department head like that of electricity, works and water supply, and this is why SSANU doesn’t like go on strike as this would ground the universities to a halt.

“I want to categorically say that if SSANU members are well paid, there would be no brain drain. But since the advent of sustained democratic government in 1999, no government has fully address the problems and challenges of SSANU which boils down to funding, development and maintenance of infrastructure in the universities, training and renumeration. Instead, what we see is the creation of new universities by the federal and state governments and neglect of the old ones.

“Both federal and state governments need to increase the budget for tertiary institutions in tandem with the United Nations directives. What we see is that government is not sincere about tackling the educational challenges of the nation from the primary level to tertiary level but just rubbing the surface and saying they are solving the challenges which is endemic as we can see the results,” said the SSANU chieftain.

He added that an educated society will reduce unrest and address insecurity and improve the economy, urging the government not to pay lip service to the problems of education in the nation.

Mr Afolabi Akinola, a member of SSANU from the Communication Unit, UNILAG, noted that the election was historic in the sense that before now such election ended up in the courts, a development that had slowed down the progress of SSANU. He congratulated the new officers and believed there was a new vista and great hope in the annals of SSANU’s history.

“The journey no doubt has been excruciating, your belief in the efficacy of pen, truth and civility of Ivory Tower agenda in unionism did the whole game changing.

“Thank you ISL, a constituency of scholarship for giving us one of your best in Dr. Yusuf Ademola Rasak as our chairman in substantive capacity with the votes of the entire University of Lagos,” Afolabi said.

The Vice Chairperson, Mrs Monsurat Adebayo, who spoke earlier said her post which is novel, would implement the welfare status of all members and would support the chairman in his plans and initiatives for the rejuvenated SSANU in UNILAG.