SSANU, NASU May Get Half Payment Of Withheld Salaries – FG
Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) may receive half of their withheld salaries, pending approval from President Bola Tinubu.
This was disclosed on Wednesday by the Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman, during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
According to him, decision to compensate academic staff was discretionary and does not automatically extend to non-academic staff.
He noted that the non-academic staff members of universities were not on strike for the same period in 2022 as their academic counterparts.
He said the government has been “doing everything possible to get relief for them.”
Addressing allegations of discrimination by SSANU and NASU, Mamman emphasised the unity of purpose among university staff, dismissing any intentional exclusion but rather attributing it to initial communication challenges.
“There is a court judgement on ‘no work, no pay.’ ASUU getting four months’ pay was actually a discretion and decision on the part of the President. So, it doesn’t automatically transfer (to NASU and SSANU) but the matter is under consideration.
“I don’t think it is safe to put a time on it but it’s safer to say that we are on it and we are pushing.
“And in any case, the non-academic staff, were not on strike for the same period with the academic staff — about four months or so. So, if they are getting payment, it is going to be half of that (payment), if the President will follow his precedent with the academic staff,” the minister emphasised.
