By Adedapo Adesanya
The members of the non-academic workers of Nigerian public universities have announced the suspension of the indefinite strike from Tuesday, November 5.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) disclosed this in a strike update sent to the chairpersons of branches across the country on Sunday.
The suspension comes a day after the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation (OAGF) said payments to unions “had commenced and many have confirmed receipt.”
In a statement on Sunday signed by SSANU President, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary, Mr Peters Adeyemi said the decision to suspend the strike followed commitments secured after engagements with the Ministers of Education and Finance.
The unions noted that the government has committed to the payment of two of the four months’ salaries.
According to the statement, payment for the first month will be made at the end of October while the second month will be paid at the end of November.
The unions, therefore, suspended the strike for a month, starting from Tuesday, 5 November.
Recall that the outgoing Minister of State for Education, Mr Yusuf Sununu, and the ministry’s permanent secretary, Mr Nasir Gwarzo, met with the leadership of the unions on Thursday (October 31).
However, the meeting ended in a deadlock, according to the unions, as they refused to shift ground and insisted that the strike would only be suspended after their members received the withheld salaries.
“In view of the level of commitment exhibited by the new minister and the leadership of the Department of State Service, the leadership of JAC, after several contacts and other patriotic consideration, hereby directs that the ongoing indefinite strike be suspended for one month effective Tuesday 5th November 2024.
“We wish to also reiterate that discussions on the remaining 2 months, the N50 billion Earned Allowances, Arrears of 25/35 per cent and the wage award have been revisited and are undergoing deliberations,” the statement reads.
