The protest, which drew over 500 participants, was jointly led by Comrade Linus Akata, Chairman of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), and Comrade William Amu, Chairman of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU).
The demonstrators, carrying placards with inscriptions such as “FGN honour the 2009 agreement now,” “Enough is enough, pay our withheld salary,” and “SSANU/NASU united, we demand what is our right,” marched through major roads within the university campus, chanting solidarity songs.
Speaking to journalists, Akata and Amu said the protest was in compliance with a directive from the national Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU, which ordered a nationwide one-day warning protest across all public universities and inter-university centres.
“The national JAC at its meeting on Monday, October 6, directed all branches to carry out this one-day protest as a last warning to the government,” one of the leaders explained.
The union leaders warned that if the Federal Government fails to meet their demands, the unions would embark on a nationwide indefinite strike that would shut down both administrative and academic operations in all public universities.
“Nigerians, especially parents, should prevail on the government to meet the demands of SSANU and NASU, because if the nationwide strike begins, it will be total and comprehensive,” they cautioned.
Their demands include the payment of withheld salaries from the 2022 industrial action, the implementation of the 2009 agreement, and the resolution of issues surrounding third-party deductions from workers’ pay.
“We can no longer take care of our families because the government owes us,” one of the protesters lamented.
The unionists urged the government to take immediate action to prevent another nationwide shutdown of universities, warning that their patience was running out.
