The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) have jointly declared a 7-day warning strike to press for the payment of four months’ withheld salaries of their members, following the 2022 nationwide strike.

The decision to embark on the strike was reached by the joint action committee of the two unions after a meeting held in Akure over the weekend.

The unions cited unfair treatment and questioned the government’s rationale behind the selective payment of salaries.

Last week, the unions had warned of potential disruptions to industrial peace in Nigerian universities if their demands were not met.

According to SSANU president Mohammed Ibrahim, numerous protest letters and communications with the Federal Government failed to yield results, leading to the decision to initiate the warning strike as a last resort.

Speaking in Abuja on Monday, Ibrahim read the communiqué of the meeting to journalists, emphasizing that the withheld salaries issue had reached a critical point that required immediate attention from the government.

The statement issued by the unions warned of further action if the Federal Government failed to address the situation promptly.

It stated, “If nothing is done by the Federal Government to positively address this situation and respond to our previous letters to them, the members of the two unions may be forced to meet soon to take all lawful and stringent decisions on the matter.”