The National Executive Council of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has issued a strong warning about the ongoing renegotiation process between university-based unions and the Federal Government. They say that no final agreement has been reached and that they will go on strike if talks are not finished by the end of April.
The statement was made in a communiqué that came out after a special NEC meeting on Saturday at the union’s national secretariat in Abuja. The leaders talked about how the negotiations were going.
The National President of SSANU, Muhammad Ibrahim, signed a statement that was sent to the press on Sunday. In it, the NEC said again that “the renegotiation process with the Federal Government is still ongoing and has not been concluded.”
The council was also worried about what it called false reports in the public space that said the process was over.
It pointed to the spread of a letter that supposedly showed support for a 30% increase in allowances, saying that talks were still going on and no agreement had been signed.
NEC said, “SSANU will not accept any outcome that falls below the negotiated understanding reached in the course of the renegotiation process, and insists that fairness, due process, and collective bargaining principles must be respected.”
The council stuck to its earlier position from the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU, giving the Federal Government until April 1 to April 30, 2026, to finish negotiations and sign agreements.
It said that if the deadline wasn’t met, the unions would have to go on strike.
The message said that SSANU “will have no choice but to start an indefinite, comprehensive, and total industrial action with NASU.”
The council told all members to stay calm but alert, and to stay together so that they are ready to follow any orders from the union leadership.
The message read, “NEC asked all members of the Union in all branches to stay calm, alert, united, and ready to fully follow the Union’s decisions in order to protect their welfare, dignity, and collective interest.”
It also said that SSANU would keep fighting for members’ rights and welfare, saying that the union “will continue to pursue justice with firmness, unity, and resolve.”
The most recent warning comes after an earlier message sent after SSANU’s 54th National Executive Council meeting at Ekiti State University. At that meeting, the union expressed its displeasure with the slow pace of renegotiations and gave the Federal Government a final ultimatum.
SSANU also talked about problems with late pay, lack of money for universities, and bad working conditions in the system at that time.
In that earlier position, the union had made it clear that long and unproductive negotiations were not acceptable and had warned that if its demands were not met, it would go on strike with other non-teaching staff unions.
