The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities has warned that it will embark on a total and comprehensive industrial action in 2026 if the Federal Government fails to conclude renegotiations and present a “credible and realistic” offer to non-teaching staff before December 31, 2025.
The warning formed the major outcome of the association’s 53rd National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Jos, Plateau State, where SSANU reviewed the state of the nation and conditions across Nigerian universities.
In a communiqué released on Monday after the meeting and signed by its National President, Mohammed Ibrahim, the union said non-teaching staff had been repeatedly sidelined in the payment of Earned Allowances and in the government’s renegotiation processes.
Ibrahim insisted that the N50bn agreed upon in the 2022 MoU must be released without delay and that Inter-University Centres and research institutes excluded in previous disbursements must be included going forward.
Ibrahim also raised concerns about the deteriorating security situation in educational institutions, citing recent abductions in Niger and Kebbi States.
He called for improved perimeter protection, modern surveillance systems and better-resourced campus security units.
On the government’s proposed public-private partnership and divestment of municipal services in universities, he warned that such measures could threaten job security, lead to casualisation and weaken service stability.
“The Council reaffirmed SSANU’s firm position that no staff must lose their jobs, be replaced, downgraded, or pushed into inferior employment conditions. NEC will not accept the introduction of any policy that will affect our members without proper engagement and a comprehensive labour impact assessment exercise involving all stakeholders.
“Any attempt to impose PPP measures without safeguarding staff welfare will be met with decisive resistance from the union”, it added.
Beyond the university system, he urged coordinated government action to rebuild public systems, support farmers, strengthen health surveillance and invest in climate-resilient infrastructure.
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