The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities has declared that its members are yet to get a dime from their four-month withheld salaries.
The President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, disclosed this on a Channels Television programme: “Politics Today.”
Ibrahim, on the Sunday edition of the programme, said the current government has decided to pay the Academic Staff Union of Universities members, leaving out the withheld salaries of members of their union.
Recall that President Bola Tinubu had directed that workers in the public universities should be paid the withheld salaries that the previous administration refused to pay as a result of the prolonged strike they embarked upon in 2022.
Ibrahim noted that a dime has not been given to any members of SSANU following the directives of the President, alleging that its members are treated as unimportant in the system.
His words: “Today, as I speak to you, our colleagues in ASUU have been able to get theirs, and no one is saying anything about NASU and SSANU.
“We signed an agreement, and part of the agreement was that no one should suffer for taking part in the strike and salaries should not be withheld.
“We have been waiting, and our patience is running out.
“It’s quite unfortunate.
“No union member wants to go on strike, but when you are pushed to the wall, what would you do?
“You have to push back.
“You can see what is happening in the country.
“The economy is in doldrums and everybody is suffering.
“Most of our universities are located far outside the township, and our members have to commute every day.
“Fuel cannot be accessed, food is scarce, our medicals cannot be attended to, and members are suffering quite clearly.
“We have to speak like this because we have been clearly shown that we do not matter in the system.
“But we all know that there is no university that can function without the non-teaching staff because we are majorly populated by professionals.
…
“We own the engine of the administration of every university.
“They are treating this segment of staff with some disdain.
“It does not speak well of the system.”
