The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) at the Federal University of Lafia, Nasarawa State has joined a protest declared by the national body over the inability of the federal government to address their demands.
The branch chairman, Comrade Daniel Dajen, moblised members in protest around the campus of the university located along Makurdi road in Lafia yesterday.
They displayed placards with inscriptions such as “Pay Us Our Withheld Salaries as Approved by Mr President,” “Pay us our Earned Allowances,” and “We Are Not Slaves, We Are Not Second-Class Citizens” among others.
SSANU and NASU, through the Joint Action Committee, had directed all their branches to convene a joint emergency meeting to mobilise all their members for protest nationwide.
According to the leaders, the contentious issues include alleged unjust disbursement of N50 billion earned allowances; delay in renegotiation of the 2009 FGN and NASU/SSANU Agreements; non-payment of outstanding two months salaries; non-payment of arrears of 25 percent and 35 percent salary arrears, and non-payment of third-party deductions of the two months salaries (May and June, 2022) among others.
Speaking with journalists, Comrade Dajen expressed disappointment with the continued silence and inaction of the federal government’s renegotiation committee regarding the 2009 FG/SSANU agreement.
He noted that the agreed ₦50 billion earned allowances for universities approved since 2022 had still not been implemented years after.
He also condemned the continued withholding of salaries of SSANU members who participated in the 2022 industrial action, even as he urged the immediately release the outstanding two months withheld salaries as a demonstration of good faith and commitment to restoring industrial harmony within the university system.
He warned that if the government fails to address their demands, the association may not guarantee industrial peace on campuses.
