2009 Agreement: South West Varsity Workers Join Nationwide Protest

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) in Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU) on Thursday joined their counterparts nationwide to stage a one-day protest over the federal government’s delay in implementing the 2009 negotiation agreement.

Members of the two unions trooped out in their numbers carrying placards with inscriptions such as: “We worked, You withheld, release our wages”; “Enough is Enough, pay our two months salaries”; “No more empty promises, Action now”, among others.

Speaking, OAU SSANU chapter chairman, Engr. Ademola Junaid stated that the struggle of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU between 2021 and 2022 led to the signing of an agreement between the JAC and the Federal Government on Aug. 20, 2022.

He lamented the members’ suffering, saying that the federal government has not been sincere about the plight of SSANU/NASU in the sector.

Junaid maintained that the contentious issues are the alleged disbursement of N50 billion earned allowances and the delay in renegotiating the 2009 FGN and NASU/SSANU agreements, among others.

In the same vein, Mr Dayo Oyediwura, the chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational & Associated Institutions (NASU), recalled that the Federal Government signed a non-victimisation clause with them in 2022 after paying two months’ salary out of four.

He contended that the federal government promised not to victimise anyone who participated in the strike and then added that non-payment of their salaries amounts to victimisation, which means that the federal government has violated its pledge.

Oyediwura appealed to the federal government to pay their third-party deductions for the two months’ salaries and their promotion arrears from 2015/209.