The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union NASU have said they no longer have confidence in the Federal Government.
The unions were reacting to the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman’s interview on Channels Television where he said that SSANU and NASU would only receive half of their withheld salaries, pending President Bola Tinubu’s approval.
Grassroots Parrot recalls that their salaries were withheld when former President Muhammadu Buhari invoked a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy against the Academic Staff Union of Universities and SSANU who embarked on a strike that lasted eight months and four months, respectively, in 2022.
SSANU and NASU had since March 2024 called the attention of the government to its exclusion from the payment of the withheld salaries when ASUU was paid in February.
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Speaking on the minister’s interview, the National President, SSANU/NASU, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, said the claim by the minister that there was no approval to pay SSANU/NASU was disappointing.
“I am disappointed in the Minister of Education, who said there was no approval for the payment of SSANU/NASU withheld salaries. We met in January in the presence of all vice chancellors and union leaders and they promised to pay us.
“He is talking about a court case, meanwhile we didn’t go to court, we suspended our strikes after reaching an agreement with Mallam Adamu Adamu (ex-Minister of Education).” He said.
He added that the government should go ahead with its decision on payment.
“If that is what they have made up their minds to pay, they should just pay us. Why is he not categorical about the time to pay? We are losing confidence in them. At the appropriate time, we will send a reply. Our strike followed due process.
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At this moment, I have no confidence in the minister. If he is coming up with this, we are taken aback by his comments on Channels TV. This was not what we were told in November 2023 and January. He said the Presidency has granted the waiver. We are not impressed by the chameleon-like treatment; we’re not happy with this government.”
The SSANU/NASU President said he recalled that the Special Adviser to the President on Media and Publicity, Chief Ajuri Ngelale, in a statement on October 20, 2023, said the Federal Government had granted a waiver for partial payment of withheld salaries for all educational unions.
Also speaking, the National Vice President of SSANU, Abdussobur Salaam, said, “The implication of the minister’s comment is that clearly he does not understand the issues or is being misguided over the issues.
We shall not be taking his comments lightly. While I may not say specifically, it is obvious that the comment shall lead our members to make a decision that would lead to unpalatable consequences for our universities. It is better that the minister acts well and acts now, rather than rolling cluelessly on a barber chair.” He said.