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The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) has vehemently condemned the Federal Government’s inauguration of a renegotiation committee tasked with revisiting the 2009 agreements with university-based unions.
In a joint statement signed by SSANU President Muhammed Ibrahim and NASU President Peters Adeyemi, the unions described the inauguration, held on Tuesday in Abuja, as a “charade.” They accused the government of favoring the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) while neglecting the concerns of other unions.
The Federal Government reconstituted the renegotiation committee, giving it a three-month deadline to complete its work. However, SSANU and NASU expressed dissatisfaction, claiming that the event was heavily biased in favor of ASUU.
“The entire inauguration seemed to revolve around ASUU, with the other unions treated as an afterthought. The Honourable Minister of Education’s speech focused almost exclusively on ASUU, while the other unions were barely mentioned,” the statement read.
This marks the fourth renegotiation committee established by the government since 2017. Previous committees were led by Wale Babalakin (2017), Munzali Jubril (2020), and Nimi Briggs (2022). Notably, ASUU went on a nine-month strike in 2020, resulting in the formation of the Jubril committee, whose recommendations contributed to a draft agreement in 2021. The Nimi Briggs committee submitted another draft in 2022, but negotiations have yet to produce lasting results.
The unions expressed frustration at what they perceived as bias during the inauguration. They pointed out that the President of ASUU was given a prominent role at the event while leaders of SSANU and NASU were relegated to lesser positions.
“The President of ASUU was seated at the so-called ‘Responsibility table’ while NASU and SSANU leaders were left as mere spectators, a clear indication of the imbalance in the process,” the statement noted.
SSANU and NASU expressed concerns that the renegotiation might unfairly favor academic staff over non-teaching personnel. They criticized the government for allowing the ASUU President to speak on behalf of all unions without prior consultation, further illustrating the disregard for the views of other unions.
Concluding their statement, the unions condemned the inauguration process and voiced serious concerns about potential partiality in the upcoming negotiations. “We reject the charade that took place in the name of an inauguration, as it signals a clear bias toward academic staff and undermines the rights of non-teaching workers,” they stated.