The President of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Mohammed Ibrahim, says the union has yet to receive the four-month withheld salary.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu ruled that staff at public institutions be paid the withheld salary that the previous administration refused to pay as a result of the long-running strike in 2022.
Speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Sunday, Ibrahim indicated that the current government has opted to refund the withheld salary of only Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) members.
He said, “Today, as I speak to you, our colleagues in ASUU have been able to get theirs, and no one is saying anything about NASU and SSANU.
“We signed an agreement, and part of the agreement was that no one should suffer for taking part in the strike and salaries should not be withheld.
“We have been waiting, and our patience is running out.”
Speaking earlier, the SSANU Chief accused the government of treating members of the union with ‘disdain.’
“It’s quite unfortunate. No union member wants to go on strike, but when you are pushed to the wall, what would you do? You have to push back.
“You can see what is happening in the country. The economy is in dundrums and everybody is suffering.
Most of our universities are located far outside the township, and our members have to commute every day. Fuel cannot be accessed, food is scarce, our medicals cannot be attended to, and members are suffering quite clearly,” he added.
His words: “We have to speak like this because we have been clearly shown that we do not matter in the system. But we all know that there is no university that can function without the non-teaching staff because we are majorly populated by professionals. We own the engine of the administration of every university.
“They are treating this segment of staff with some disdain. It does not speak good of the system.”