The Federal Government has met with the leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) to discuss ending their warning strike.
The Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, met with the unions’ leaders in Abuja on Wednesday, March 20, 2024.
Mamman told newsmen after the meeting that the Federal Government would continue to dialogue with the unions to ensure that things do not escalate beyond what it is now.
The unions commenced a seven-day nationwide strike on Monday to protest the refusal of the government to release their four-month salaries withheld in 2021 because they embarked on a strike.
The minister said: “It is our expectation that things will not go beyond what it is. We have a good understanding with the unions to ensure stability in our tertiary institutions.
“We will do everything possible to maintain confidence in the unions so that the issue of the strike can be rested.”
Also speaking, the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, commended the openness of the government in ending the strike, insisting that the industrial action continues until favourable response from the government.
Adeyemi said: “We have been duly briefed by the government team led by the Minister of Education in the efforts that government is making in respect of our demands.
“We have said that since this is a warning strike, this effort should continue and hopefully before the end of warning strike, something reasonable and tangible will come from government.
“We appreciate their openness but this struggle will continue as soon as we receive positive response from the higher authorities.
“We assure the Nigerian public that the strike will be reviewed appropriately but for now the strike continues while the government continues with efforts to get the desired results so that the universities will come back on stage.”
Corroborating Adeyemi, the NAAT President, Comrade Ibeji Nwokoma, reiterated the decision of other unions, saying the parties would further consult with their principals and thereafter come back and brief the minister
