The unions said the action followed the federal government’s slow pace in renegotiating the 2009 agreement with non-academic staff, despite concluding a similar process with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU)
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) has directed its members to embark on an indefinite strike from 1 May.
The unions said the action followed the federal government’s slow pace in renegotiating the 2009 agreement with non-academic staff, despite concluding a similar process with the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU). The renegotiation with ASUU was finalised with an agreement signed in December.
The leadership of both unions announced the strike a day after they met with the federal government delegation led by the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, to discuss the renegotiation.
While some agreements were reached at the meeting, it was not enough to stop the union from embarking on the strike action, the statement said.
“Given the mandate of members that only the full approval of our demands,would be acceptable, the leadership, after due consultation, resolved to stand by that mandate,” the statement reads in part.
“In view of this, we hereby direct our members to commence total and comprehensive strike action in all our universities and Inter-University Centres campuses from 12:00 a.m. of 1st May, 2026.”
At Wednesday’s meeting, JAC demanded that the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement be concluded by 30 April, warning that failure to do so would lead to industrial action.
SSANU had earlier issued an ultimatum for the government to conclude the negotiation by the end of April during its National Executive Council (NEC) at the Ekiti State University, Ado-Ekiti, last month.
The union also told members that the government had withdrawn the proposed 30 per cent salary increment for staff, without offering any alternative or fresh commitment.
They added that no timeline had been given for the conclusion of the renegotiation exercise, a key concern for the striking unions.
Officials present at the meeting, according to the statement, include the Minister of State for Education, Suwaiba Ahmad, a professor, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan; the Executive Secretaries, National Universities Commission (NUC), Abdullahi Ribadu, a professor, and National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Angela Ajala.
In 2009, the Nigerian government signed an agreement with several workers’ unions in public universities, including ASUU, SSANU and NASU.
The agreement, which covers workers’ pay and conditions of service, was expected to be renegotiated every three years but has remained unreviewed for many years, leading to repeated industrial actions across public universities.
In December, the government concluded the renegotiation with the academic staff under ASUU after the sixth renegotiation committee, set up in October, completed the harmonisation of the negotiations.
However, the non-academic staff unions have always accused the government of treating them less than their academic counterparts during negotiations.
For instance, the committee negotiating with the academic and non-academic staff was inaugurated in October. However, four months after the agreement with ASUU was reached and signed, that of the SSANU and NASU has yet to be concluded.
