By Cross Udo, Abuja
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has issued a December 31 deadline to the Federal Government to conclude the long-stalled renegotiation of its demands or face a total shutdown of all universities from January 2026.
In a communiqué issued at the end of its 53rd National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Jos, and signed by its National President, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, the union said it would no longer tolerate what it described as years of marginalisation, neglect, and insincere engagement by government.
NEC accused the government of excluding non-teaching staff from key welfare and funding frameworks, including Earned Allowances and the ongoing renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement.
It insisted that the ₦50 billion earlier approved in the 2022 MoU must be released immediately, adding that research institutes and inter-university centres previously denied access must be fully included.
“The continued denial of financial entitlements to SSANU members is unacceptable and will attract firm, coordinated action,” the communiqué stated. It added that failure by the government to conclude renegotiation and present a “realistic, credible offer” by December 31, 2025, would compel the union to “initiate total, comprehensive, and system-wide industrial action in 2026.”
SSANU also raised alarm over the rising cases of insecurity in schools, citing recent kidnappings of students and teachers in Niger and Kebbi states as evidence of a deteriorating national threat that “endangers education at all levels.”
It urged Federal and State Governments to prioritise campus security by deploying surveillance technology, fortifying perimeter protection, improving intelligence operations, and ensuring health and life insurance for all staff.
The union further rejected the Federal Ministry of Education’s new proposal to introduce Public-Private Partnership (PPP) models for municipal services in universities.
SSANU warned that past PPP experiments in other sectors had resulted in job losses, casualisation, wage reductions, and institutional decay.
“NEC will not accept any policy that threatens the job security or welfare of our members,” it said, stressing that any attempt to impose PPP measures without a proper labour impact assessment would meet “decisive resistance.”
On university infrastructure, SSANU lamented what it called persistent underfunding that has left campuses nationwide in a state of collapse.
It listed failing water systems, unreliable electricity, dilapidated hostels and classrooms, outdated laboratories, and weak campus security as symptoms of “a widening gap between university needs and government funding.”
It demanded predictable, adequate funding, backed by strict accountability mechanisms, to address urgent deficits in teaching, research, digital systems, and administrative services.
The communiqué also highlighted the worsening economic hardship facing university workers, noting that inflation, high fuel costs, and soaring prices of necessities have eroded stagnant salaries and plunged many families into distress.
“These conditions are unsustainable and threaten the well-being and morale of the workforce,” SSANU warned, calling for an immediate wage review and enhanced social protection measures for education sector workers.
Despite its hard-line stance, the union reaffirmed its willingness to work with the government on reforms that strengthen governance, rebuild public institutions, and improve national development outcomes.
