Activities at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN), Kwara State, and University of Jos (UNIJOS), Plateau State, were disrupted on Monday as non-teaching staff unions continued their nationwide indefinite strike, insisting on a 45 per cent salary increase and full implementation of the 2009 agreement.
Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) staged a peaceful protest at the university gate, displaying placards and withdrawing essential services across key departments, effectively grounding operations on campus.
In Kwara State, Chairman of SSANU, UNILORIN Chapter, Falowo Olushola, said the unions had rejected the Federal government’s earlier 30 per cent salary proposal, describing it as unacceptable.
“Basically today, our demand is the conclusion, signing and implementation of the 2009 agreement. We reject the 30% that was proposed to us outright. All staff in federal universities have rejected it. Our demand is 45% and that is final.”
“If they want to give us anything lesser, let them present it clearly, but we do not want anything below 45%.”
He said the unions had shown patience over the years, issuing multiple ultimatums without meaningful response from the government before embarking on the current industrial action.
“In March 2026, we gave the Federal government an ultimatum of May 1, but nothing was done before it expired. Today is May 4, and they are still calling for meetings. We need a government that will prioritise the survival of education.”
Olushola stressed that the strike was total and not a warning action, noting that non-teaching staff play critical roles in the running of universities.
“Our members work round-the-clock. We handle security, ICT, finance, transport, and other services that keep the university running.”
Also speaking, NASU Chairman at UNILORIN, Comrade Suberu Haruna Ibrahim, said the dispute dates back to 2017, when renegotiation of the 2009 agreement began.
“This renegotiation has been on since 2017, yet the government has not concluded the non-teaching staff component. We cannot continue like this.”
“Just this January, teaching staff were given about 40% increase, while non-teaching staff were left out. We are demanding that the same be extended to us and backdated accordingly.”
He described the action as a comprehensive and indefinite strike, saying all non-academic staff nationwide have withdrawn their services.
“It is a comprehensive, indefinite strike, not a warning. We have issued warnings over the past two months and nothing was done. Now, we have taken our destiny into our hands.”
Ibrahim also raised concerns over unpaid arrears, including one-year and two-month outstanding salaries from 2022.
“All these must be addressed. Our future and welfare concern us a lot.”
He added that the absence of non-teaching staff had already disrupted daily activities in the university.
“You can see students trekking because transport services are no longer available. Our members are responsible for driving and other essential services. They should feel the impact so that the government can act quickly.”
Similarly in Plateau State, the NASU and SSANU members at UNIJOS staged a peaceful protest over unresolved welfare demands and delays in the renegotiation of agreements with the Federal government.
The protesters marched from the university’s main gate to the Senate Building, chanting solidarity songs while demanding improved welfare conditions and the implementation of agreements previously reached with the government.
The demonstration comes in the wake of a nationwide strike declared by the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU, which directed members in universities and inter-university centres across the country to commence a total and comprehensive industrial action from May 1, 2026.
Union leaders said the action followed a meeting with officials of the Federal Ministry of Education that failed to produce a fresh offer or a clear timeline for concluding the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement for non-teaching staff.
The unions maintain that they will remain on strike until their demands are fully met.
