NAAT Threatens Strike Over FG’s ‘Selective’ Earned Allowance Disbursement

The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has threatened to withdraw its services over what it describes as the federal government’s selective and discriminatory handling of earned allowance payments within the university system.

In a communique issued after its 58th regular National Executive Council (NEC), the union warned that such actions threatened the fragile industrial peace currently maintained on campuses.

In the communique signed by the national president, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, NAAT criticised a letter issued by the permanent secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Abel  Enitan, addressed to the president of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), indicating a planned release of N50 billion for Earned Academic Allowances (EAA) exclusively for ASUU members.

NAAT argued that the move contravenes the consensus in previous joint union meetings with the federal government.

According to the union, the allowance was never meant solely for academic staff but for all university-based unions, including NAAT, the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU).

In the presence of all unions, Nwokoma clarified that the misinformation was corrected earlier during a meeting with the minister of education on January 23, 2025. The minister reportedly apologised and promised to make amends.

The communique reads in parts, “NEC-in-Session thoughtfully frowned at this selective and discriminatory action of the federal government through FME and viewed it as a threat to industrial harmony being enjoyed in our campuses.

NEC-in-Session demands an immediate withdrawal of the letter written to the ASUU president to douse the tension in the nation’s university campuses”.

“NEC-in-Session further demands that before the N50 billion is released, a meeting of the union’s leadership and the minister of education be convened to draw up modalities for fair and equitable distribution. If anything contrary to the above, the union may not guarantee industrial peace on our campuses.

NAAT also calls on the Dr Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Committee to reconvene the FGN/ NAAT re-negotiation meeting as soon as possible to conclude the exercise promptly.

The statement added that the NEC-in-session was also worried about the non-inclusivity of the mainstreaming of the earned allowances due to our members in the 2009 FGN/NAAT agreement and, therefore, demanded convening of the technical committee meeting to mainstream the allowances as appropriate.