The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) have mobilized thousands of members across federal and state universities for a one-day nationwide protest scheduled for Thursday, October 9.
The action, declared by the unions' Joint Action Committee (JAC), stems from the Federal Government's perceived inaction on long-standing demands, including unpaid salaries, withheld allowances, and stalled agreement renegotiations.
The protest directive was issued in a circular dated October 6, 2025, and jointly signed by NASU General Secretary Prince Peters Adeyemi and SSANU National President Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim.
It instructs all branch leaders in universities and inter-university centers to convene emergency joint congresses on Wednesday, October 8, to rally members for demonstrations, placard-carrying marches on campuses, and press conferences highlighting their grievances.
The unions' frustration boils over from a series of unmet deadlines. Initially issuing a seven-day ultimatum on September 15, 2025, which was extended by 14 days to October 6, SSANU and NASU point to minimal progress during two meetings of a government-inaugurated Joint Consultative Committee on September 19 and October 6.
Despite these engagements, core issues remain unresolved, prompting the JAC to label the government's response as "inadequate" and justifying immediate mass action.
At the heart of the dispute is the alleged "unjust" distribution of a N50 billion ($30 million) Earned Allowances fund, which the unions claim favored academic staff represented by ASUU while sidelining non-academic workers essential to university operations.
Other pressing demands include:
Delay in renegotiating the 2009 FGN-NASU/SSANU Agreement: Unions accuse the government of stalling updates to this pact, which governs salaries, conditions, and promotions for administrative, technical, and support staff.
Non-payment of outstanding salaries: Two months' withheld pay from previous disputes, plus arrears from 25% and 35% salary increments approved in 2023.
Unremitted third-party deductions: Over N1 billion in withheld contributions for pensions, cooperatives, and health insurance from May and June 2022 salaries.
"These reforms and payments are not just demands; they are lifelines for workers who keep our universities running from registry clerks to engineers maintaining infrastructure," Adeyemi stated in the circular, urging full compliance to "send a clear message to Abuja."
This is not the first time SSANU and NASU have taken to the streets. In July 2024, they staged peaceful protests across campuses, decrying perceived favoritism toward ASUU in the partial payment of eight months' withheld salaries from a 2022 strike.
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