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 extended its ultimatum to the Federal Government by two weeks over unresolved labour issues.
This was contained in a circular dated Sept. 22, signed by Prince Peters A. Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU, and Comrade Mohammed H. Ibrahim, President of SSANU and Chairman of JAC.
According to the circular, the decision followed a meeting of the JAC leadership held on Monday in Abuja.
JAC stated that the extension was to give the government additional time to address outstanding demands affecting their members in universities and inter-university centres.
“You will recall that in our last correspondence, we gave the government a seven-day ultimatum to resolve issues raised in our letter to the Honourable Minister of Education,” the unions said.
They noted that in response to the ultimatum, the government constituted a Joint Consultative Committee to look into their agitations.
The committee, which met on Sept. 19, was chaired by Mr. Abel O. Enitan, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education. Other participants included the Executive Secretary of the National Universities Commission (NUC); the Director, Tertiary Education, Federal Ministry of Education; the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, among others.
JAC, however, said no concrete resolutions were reached during the meeting.
“As a result, we have resolved to extend the ultimatum by an additional two weeks with effect from today. If the government fails to meet our demands within this period, we will proceed with a series of legitimate industrial actions,” the unions warned.
The circular was addressed to all branch chairmen of NASU and SSANU across universities and inter-university centres.
The unions had previously expressed concern over the non-resolution of various labour matters affecting their members, and have called for urgent intervention from the government.
