The Ahmadu Bello University (ABU), Zaria chapters of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and NASU have held a peaceful protest to drive home their demand over unpaid arrears.
A Correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) monitored the protest at the Samaru Campus of the University on Tuesday in Zaria.
During the protest, the union members held placards with inscriptions such as “ JAC demands the immediate payment of withheld salaries”, “ FG please do the needful and pay us our outstanding four months salaries’’ and “Pay us our 4 months salaries.’’
NAN also observed that most of the entrances to the university were locked.
Mohammed Yunusa, Chairman of SSANU, ABU chapter, while briefing newsmen, urged government to pay the withheld salaries and other demands of the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU to avoid a complete collapse of the public universities.
He said that their counterparts in the Academic Staff Union of the Universities (ASUU) were paid their withheld salaries in February leaving out the other unions.
“The unions protested such payment to ASUU alone, issued a letter of demand to the federal government and up till this moment there was no response from them.
“SSANU viewed this as an injustice and a divide and rule strategy in the university system; a university cannot effectively function without inputs from the non-teaching staff.
“The workers are now at home because of the strike, with academic and social services at the institution grounded,” he said.
Yunusa added that power and water supply had ceased; internet services and servers shut down; libraries, laboratories and lecture halls had been locked.
Meanwhile, SSANU, Federal University Gusau (FUGUS) Branch has joined the nationwide industrial action of the association demanding payment of four month’s salary withheld in 2023.
The Branch Secretary, Attahiru Abubakar in a statement to newsmen in Gusau said that all members of FUGUS Branch were actively participating in the 7-day warning strike.
“We maintain loyalty to the call by our national body, and we direct all branch members to comply.
“We all recall that the JAC of NASU and SSANU urged the Federal Government to pay the withheld salaries of our members at the federal university and inter university centres in a letter dated Feb. 13.
“Consequently a 7- day ultimatum was given to government on March 1, within which it is expected to do the needful, but regrettably nothing has happened till now,” he said. (MAN)
By Mustapha Yauri
