The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, has handed the Federal Government a December 31 deadline to finish its renegotiation with the union, warning that universities will be shut down indefinitely from January 2026 if the talks yield no result.
In a communiqué issued after its 53rd National Executive Council, NEC, meeting at the University of Jos, and signed by its President, Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, SSANU stated that the government has failed to show commitment to addressing issues affecting non-teaching staff.
The union accused the government of sidelining its members in the payment of Earned Allowances and in the renegotiation process.
It said that the N50 billion agreed upon in the 2022 MoU be released immediately and that Inter-University Centres and research institutes excluded from previous payments be included in the next disbursement.
SSANU warned that failure to conclude a credible renegotiation by the end of December would trigger “total and comprehensive” industrial action.
The union also raised concern over the rising spate of school kidnappings, saying the recent abductions in Kebbi and Niger States reflect worsening insecurity around educational institutions.
It appealed to the government to strengthen campus security through modern surveillance systems, improved perimeter protection and better intelligence gathering.
SSANU rebuffed the Federal Ministry of Education’s proposal to introduce Public-Private Partnership, PPP, arrangements for municipal services in universities, saying previous PPP models in other sectors had led to job losses and poorer working conditions.
It insisted that no staff should lose their jobs or be downgraded under any such guise.
The communiqué also spoke on the deteriorating state of infrastructure in universities, citing unreliable electricity, faulty water systems, dilapidated hostels, outdated laboratories and weak security structures.
