FG releases varsity workers’ withheld arrears

The Federal Government has released withheld salaries of members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) after the union issued a 14-day ultimatum to shut down the universities.

In response to the threat, the government said it has released eight months out of the salary arrears owed the workers.

SSANU had before now demanded the immediate release of the withheld funds and full payment of outstanding Consolidated University Teaching and Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTTA) arrears calculated from January 1, 2026.

In the demands, contained in a communiqué issued after its 56th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in University of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, at the weekend, SSANU warned that failure to meet the demands within 14 days would lead to a “total, comprehensive and indefinite strike action”.

The ultimatum also demanded payment of two months’ salaries withheld during the 2022 industrial action and one-year arrears arising from the 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increases.

However, less than 48 hours after the union made its position public, the Federal Government released the eight months’ arrears, averting an imminent disruption of academic activities across Nigerian universities.

Confirming the release of the eight months arrears, SSANU President, Comrade Mohammed Haruna Ibrahim, told journalists that his members would soon start receiving alerts.

He described the development as a demonstration that constructive engagement, when matched with prompt action, can protect industrial harmony and workers’ welfare.

The labour particularly lauded Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa’s efforts for his intervention and for keeping to his promise to facilitate the release of the funds.

Mohammed advised members of the union in their various branches to liaise with the management of their universities to ensure prompt and judicious payment and report back any shortfall.

Before the ultimatum was issued, the minister reportedly contacted SSANU’s national president, Ibrahim, to confirm that the Ministry of Finance and the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation were processing the funds for release.

SSANU said the minister’s proactive engagement, followed by actual release of the arrears, reflected a commendable departure from the usual delay in implementing negotiated agreements.

The union, however, urged the Federal Government to sustain this responsive approach in settling all remaining entitlements of university workers.

Despite the release of the eight months’ arrears, SSANU maintained that the Federal Government must still settle the outstanding two months’ salaries withheld during the 2022 strike and the one-year arrears from the 25 per cent and 35 per cent salary increases.

The union described the obligations as legitimate entitlements that should not be subjected to further delay.

NEC had also called on state governments and governing councils of state-owned universities to ensure full, equitable and properly funded implementation of the agreement, warning that selective or delayed implementation could fuel unrest in the university system.

While welcoming the government’s action, SSANU reaffirmed its commitment to constructive engagement and industrial peace.

It, however, insisted that it would deploy all lawful and constitutional means to protect the rights, welfare and professional advancement of its members where agreements are not faithfully implemented.

The union said the prompt settlement of the arrears had strengthened confidence that constructive engagement between government and university-based unions could deliver tangible results for workers, students and the wider Nigerian University System.