Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non‑Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has directed its members to commence a “total and comprehensive” indefinite strike at all federal and state universities as well as inter‑university centres from 12 a.m. on Friday, 1 May 2026. The directive, contained in a strike notice dated 30 April and signed by SSANU President and JAC Chairman Mohammed Ibrahim and NASU General Secretary Prince Peters Adeyemi, follows the failure of last‑minute negotiations with a Federal Government delegation led by the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa.
The strike action was triggered by the government’s slow pace in renegotiating the 2009 agreement for non‑teaching staff in tertiary institutions, a process that has dragged on for years while the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) finalised its own renegotiation with a signed agreement in December 2025. Despite a 30‑day ultimatum issued by the unions on 30 March 2026, which gave the government until 30 April to conclude the talks and sign the agreements, the meeting on 29 April ended without any accord. In a notice addressed to the Minister of Education, the union leaders stated: “We write to acknowledge receipt of your correspondence and to equally appreciate the Honourable Minister of Education for withdrawing the contentious letter,” referring to the earlier circular on a 30 per cent increase in the Consolidated Non‑Teaching Tools Allowance. “Despite this, the withdrawal did not resolve the core issues in dispute.”
The crisis deepened when the Federal Government withdrew its earlier offer of a 30 per cent salary increase for non‑academic staff without providing any alternative proposal. The unions had rejected the proposed 30 per cent rise, insisting that it was not the product of collective bargaining and that it fell far short of their core demands. In the strike notice, the leadership of NASU and SSANU stressed that they were acting strictly on the mandate given by their members, which required “the full approval of our demands” as contained in earlier communications dated 27 March and 18 April 2026. “While the letter on the withdrawal of the Consolidated Non‑Teaching Tools Allowance is acknowledged, no new offer has been made to supersede the 30 per cent allowances contained in the withdrawn letter,” the unions declared.
The decision to down tools came a day after a high‑level meeting between the JAC and top government officials, which included the Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa; the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad; the Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Education, Mr Abel O. Enitan; the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC), Prof. Abdullahi Y. Ribadu; and the Executive Secretary of the National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), Dr Mrs Angela Ajala. At that meeting, the government team appealed passionately to the unions to reconsider the strike notice but failed to provide a definite timeline for completing the renegotiation or a fresh offer to replace the withdrawn 30 per cent allowance. The unions said that while they appreciated the withdrawal of the “contentious letter”, the symbolic gesture did not address the underlying issues.
The industrial action is expected to halt administrative and support services in federal tertiary institutions, raising concerns over another prolonged disruption in Nigeria’s already fragile university system. The unions have announced the establishment of national monitoring teams to oversee compliance with the strike across campuses nationwide and warned that any branch found undermining the industrial action would face sanctions. A separate invitation also sent to the unions was not sufficient to avert the crisis, as the unions insisted that only the full approval of their demands would be acceptable.
The looming strike has sparked anxiety among students, parents and education stakeholders, who fear a repeat of the eight‑month university shutdown of 2022, during which academic staff stayed out for eight months while non‑academic staff participated for four months. In the wake of that strike, the Federal Government under President Bola Tinubu ordered the payment of four of the eight months’ withheld salaries for academic staff but left out non‑teaching staff, a grievance that has remained a source of bitterness for NASU and SSANU. Although not the immediate trigger for the current action, the unresolved issue of the four months’ withheld salaries continues to fuel distrust between the unions and the government.
As the strike takes effect from midnight on Friday, students in federal universities across the country face an uncertain academic calendar, and university administrators are bracing for a total shutdown of non‑academic operations. Parents and guardians who have already paid school fees and accommodation charges are demanding that the government return to the negotiating table without delay. For now, the Federal Government has not indicated any plan to reconvene talks, and the unions have made it clear that they will not resume work until their demands are fully met.
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