University Workers to Resume Suspended Strike Over Withheld Salaries, Says NASU
The Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Other Associated Institutions (NASU) has threatened to resume a suspended strike over four months of unpaid salaries, potentially disrupting Nigeria's university system.
Chris Oyeoku Okafor 
The Nigerian university system may soon face a fresh disruption as the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Other Associated Institutions (NASU) has signaled its intention to resume the suspended strike over four months of withheld salaries. This development comes amid unresolved disputes with the Federal Government.
The General Secretary of NASU, Prince Peters Adeyemi, hinted at the potential industrial action during the ongoing National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja. Although an exact date for the strike’s resumption was not disclosed, there are indications that the NEC members will decide soon.
Addressing journalists on the sidelines of the meeting, Prince Adeyemi expressed frustration with the delayed payment of the two months' salaries directed by President Bola Tinubu out of the four months withheld by the previous administration. “The President’s directive has been disobeyed,” he stated. “The Finance Minister seems to have other priorities, neglecting what ought to have been done."
According to him, the union had exercised patience but reached a breaking point, prompting the need to resume the strike. “We have given the government enough notice,” he remarked, adding that NASU previously held back on industrial action to give room for a resolution. However, he accused the Finance Ministry of treating the President’s directive with levity, potentially provoking an avoidable crisis.
The union leader described the situation as disrespectful to President Tinubu, who had, in October 2023, directed that NASU and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) be paid two months out of the four months’ withheld salaries. The salaries were initially held back by the Federal Government under former President Muhammadu Buhari following a prolonged strike in 2022.
NASU and SSANU had previously embarked on a seven-day warning strike in March 2024 over the Ministry of Finance's failure to implement the directive. The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of both unions issued a final three-week ultimatum to the government on September 18, 2024, to settle the withheld salaries, but the situation remains unresolved.
