Strike: FG Releases Eight Months’ Salary Arrears to SSANU Members

By Adedapo Adesanya

The federal government has released eight months’ salary arrears owed to members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), averting an indefinite strike threatened by the union.

According to SSANU President, Mr Mohammed Ibrahim, the payment followed the 14-day ultimatum issued by the association over unpaid arrears and the incomplete implementation of the 2026 agreement with the government.

Mr Ibrahim said the intervention demonstrated the Federal Government’s responsiveness and the commitment of the Minister of Education, Mr Tunji Alausa, to fulfilling agreements reached with university-based unions.

The payment came barely 24 hours after SSANU warned that it could commence an indefinite strike if its outstanding financial demands were not addressed.

At its 56th National Executive Council meeting at the University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, SSANU had demanded the immediate release of funds to affected universities and full payment of arrears arising from the 2026 FGN/SSANU Agreement.

The 2026 agreement, according to him, was clear on the modalities to resolve lingering issues regarding payments and arrears that have been implemented haphazardly, and demanded it that the federal government complete the payment or risk an indefinite strike action.

The union said the agreement took effect from January 1, 2026, although it was formally signed on June 29, and complained that implementation remained incomplete in some universities due to funding and administrative challenges.

SSANU had threatened to resume a “total, comprehensive and indefinite strike action” if the federal government failed to meet its demands within 14 days.

However, Mr Ibrahim said the planned industrial action had now been averted following the release of the eight months’ arrears.

The development is also linked to a longer-running dispute over withheld salaries.

In October 2024, SSANU and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) embarked on an indefinite nationwide strike over the payment of four months’ withheld salaries.

The unions had accused the federal government of paying withheld salaries to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while leaving non-academic university workers without similar payments.