While the Federal Government and the Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) continue to engage in discussions to end the ongoing strike, academic activities in the country have remained grounded leaving students in frustration.

Investors King in an earlier report detailed that the academic bodies directed its members to commence a nationwide indefinite strike from Monday over the nonpayment of four months withheld salaries.

The leaders of the two unions announced that the strike would start on Sunday, October 27, 2024.

JAC, in a circular to all branch chairmen of NASU and SSANU in the universities and inter-university centres, with the title: ‘Latest development in respect of the withheld four (4) months salaries’, and signed by Prince Peters Adeyemi, General Secretary of NASU and Comrade Mohammed Ibrahim, SSANU President, explained that the timing of the action was for effective co-ordination and for both unions to be on the same page.

After discussions with the unions, the FG through the Office of the Accountant General of the Federation on Saturday authorized a partial payment to the bodies and urged them to shelve the strike.

Reacting to this, JAC kicked against the FG’s approval of only one month out of the four months of withheld salaries.

The union officials, including SSANU National President, Mohammed Ibrahim, stated that the one-month salary is insufficient to meet their demands.

“Yes, they paid one month out of four months. We shall be meeting to appraise the situation, but not everyone has received their pay so far,” Ibrahim said.

The unions declared that the nationwide strike would continue until all demands are met and all withheld salaries paid.

JAC revealed that over 98 percent of union members across the country have complied with the strike.

Revealing the next step, Ibrahim said, “We plan to convene soon to determine further steps, and reaffirm our stance to remain on strike until the government fully addresses the salary backlog.”

Activities at various public hospitals and tertiary institutions of learning across Nigeria have been grounded following the industrial action embarked upon by the Joint Action Committee of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities.

Checks by Investors King on Tuesday revealed that workers belonging to these striking bodies refused to resume their duty posts in compliance with the indefinite strike.

Many patients who had visited public hospitals were not attended to while some newly admitted students of some federal Universities and Polytechnic were stranded in their schools.

It was gathered that there were no workers to attend to them in their registration exercises.

For instance at the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State where matriculation events are ongoing, the event was stalled on Tuesday after workers deserted their duty posts.

A pregnant woman who had visited Osun State University Teaching Hospital, Osogbo for medical attention said she was not attended to because workers who are members of NASU joined the strike.

Recall that on Monday, federal universities across the country were shut down, in compliance with the indefinite strike called
by the associations.

SSANU and NASU vowed to indefinitely shut down all university activities across the country, starting Monday, until the Federal Government paid the four months withheld salaries.

A statement signed by the National President of SSANU, Mohammed Ibrahim, and the General Secretary of NASU, Peters Adeyemi, said the ultimatum it gave the Federal Government over its withheld salaries expired Sunday midnight, hence the industrial action.

The unions are demanding, among others, the payment of the four-month withheld salaries, improved remuneration, earned allowances, and implementation of the 2009 agreements with the government.

The Federal Government had, through the Ministry of Labour and Employment, invoked the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy when the four university-based unions embarked on a prolonged strike in 2022.

Last October, President Bola Tinubu directed payment of four of the eight months withheld salaries for the academic staff. It was finally paid in February.

The directive was silent about the non-teaching staff, raising concerns as to their fate, a development the unions described as selective.

The Federal Ministry of Education on Monday reached out to the leaders of the university workers’ union, following the declaration of an indefinite strike.

Ibrahim noted that the ministry reached out to him requesting a meeting.

According to Ibrahim, the compliance observed in universities on Monday likely prompted the Federal Ministry of Education to request a meeting.

To prevent the teaching profession from going into extinction in Nigeria, the management of the University of Ilesa, Ilesa, Osun State has declared its undergraduate Education programmes tuition-free to boost enrollment.

The Vice-Chancellor of the University, Prof. Taiwo Olufemi Asaolu, disclosed that enrollment into Education courses has been very poor, stressing the need to revive the critical sector from total collapse.

He also revealed how the authority is striving to ensure that students of the institution make a difference in the larger society by driving expected changes and contributing to feeding the populace.

Asaolu disclosed that the University commissioned the Model Integrated Teaching and Research Farm where students are equipped and trained on livestock management and other agricultural programmes, stressing that no student of the institution would graduate without participating in the entrepreneurship development for the better good of themselves and their extended societies.

He made this known on Monday during a media engagement on how far the school has fared in the last 18 months of its official take-off on the campus.

The VC who reeled out the giant strides of the state-owned institution, disclosed that the National University Commission (NUC) has so far approved a total of 67 courses for the university including Law, Nursing, Physiotherapy, Anatomy among others.

With over 2,000 current students, the pioneer VC said the institution has experienced industrial peace and harmony since its establishment and commencement, commending the state governor, Ademola Adeleke for funding the university and prioritising the welfare of staff.

Asaolu disclosed that Governor Adeleke has approved the engagement of 230 temporary staff inherited from the defunct College of Education on permanent basis in the University.

He explained that the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) credited the University’s account with a sum of Ninety-Eight Million, Eight Hundred and Seventy One Thousand, Five Hundred Naira (N98,871,500:00) only as loan disbursement to 247 students of the University and lauded the state governor for encouraging tertiary institutions in Osun State to key into the programme.

“The University, on its part, has also approved tuition scholarship for students studying programmes in the Faculty of Education in the University to encourage increase in enrolment of candidates for the different programmes in education and to prevent the teaching profession from going into extinction. This decision is in conformity with Governor Adeleke’s integral action plan.

“The University doesn’t want the teaching profession to go into extinction. Mind you, this University has offshoot from a College of Education, it is disheartening if courses like Nursing will be recording 150 enrollments, Public Health, 200, and a course like Adult Education will have zero or one.

Not so impressive outing for education and we have the chore of our lecturers in the Faculty of Education and we do not have students for them to teach. So, if you do the cost benefit analysis, it is even better for us to make education tuition free so that the teaching profession will not go into extinction. And at any rate, it goes a long with the vision of Mr Governor.

However, it is just the tuition aspect of the regime of fees which students are expected to pay that is free. When you say free tuition and the student wants to stay in hostel, will the student not pay accomodation, he will pay for sports facilities, and things like that. But tuition from part one to four is free.

While identifying funding as major challenge confronting the institution, Asaolu stated, “Our challenges include lack of perimeter fencing, encroachment by herdsmen, mining on the school land, but the most serious among them is the issue of funding. The governor has been trying, has it not been for the governor, the university would not have made any serious progress.”

He announced that fresh students for the 2024/2025 academic session will resume on 4th November, 2024 while returning students will resume on 11th November, 2024.