Non-teaching staff unions in Nigerian universities, including NASU and SSANU, staged a nationwide protest on Tuesday over four months of withheld salaries.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of these unions appealed directly to President Bola Tinubu for intervention, expressing frustration over the selective implementation of a presidential directive that favored academic staff.
Protesters at the University of Abuja carried placards with messages like “Pay us our withheld four months’ salaries” and “Non-teaching staff are important stakeholders of universities.”
Union leaders warned that this protest marks the beginning of a series of actions that could lead to a total shutdown of all Nigerian universities. They called on the Ministers of Education and Labour to address the issue promptly to prevent industrial disharmony.
The unions’ grievances stem from what they perceive as a breach of trust by the government, potentially jeopardizing the quality of education for students from less privileged backgrounds.
