The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) branch, has strongly condemned the alleged plan to disproportionately allocate the recently released ₦50 billion earned allowance among university-based unions.
By Chimezie Godfrey
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), Federal University of Technology Akure (FUTA) branch, has strongly condemned the alleged plan to disproportionately allocate the recently released ₦50 billion earned allowance among university-based unions.
In a statement signed by the branch chairman, Comrade Felix Adunbi, and released on Tuesday, the union expressed deep dissatisfaction over what it described as a recurring pattern of unfair treatment and marginalization of non-academic unions in the Nigerian university system.
According to emerging reports, the Federal Government intends to allocate 80% of the ₦50 billion allowance to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), leaving only 20% to be shared among SSANU, the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU), and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).
“This is not just an assault on the collective psyche of members of the other unions but an exemplification of lack of equity, fairness and justice,” the statement read. “It should not be allowed to stand.”
FUTA SSANU emphasized that such an unequal distribution undermines the principles of inclusion and respect among university workers, warning that it could jeopardize the industrial harmony currently prevailing across campuses.
The union said it “aligns itself with the mother union and other men and women of goodwill who are calling for equitable sharing of the earned allowance among all the unions in the system.”
“This is the only way the prevailing harmony can and will be sustained,” Adunbi asserted, reiterating that all unions are equal stakeholders in the university system and deserve to be treated as such.
FUTA SSANU concluded by firmly rejecting any attempt to shortchange its members and vowed to resist similar actions in the future.
“All unions and their members are equal stakeholders and should be so treated at all times,” the statement added.
The controversy surrounding the earned allowance distribution comes at a time when university unions across the country are closely watching the Federal Government’s fulfillment of agreements reached following past industrial actions.
Stakeholders are now calling for transparency and fairness in the sharing formula to prevent a possible breakdown of industrial peace on campuses.