The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) has announced a two-week extension to the strike ultimatum previously issued to the Federal Government.
It will be recalled that both unions initially gave the government a seven-day ultimatum over a series of unresolved welfare-related issues, warning that failure to act would trigger a nationwide strike.
In a joint letter signed by SSANU President, Muhammed Ibrahim, the unions condemned what they described as the “unjust disbursement of the earned allowances to staff of universities, non-payment of outstanding allowances, among others.”
Ibrahim also referenced a previous communication from the JAC of NASU and SSANU dated June 18, 2025, which had drawn the government’s attention to lingering labour disputes. That letter, he noted, led to a meeting with the Minister of Education on July 4, 2025.
In a fresh letter addressed to union chapters across the country on Tuesday, the JAC explained that the decision to extend the ultimatum followed a meeting held with the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, on Friday, September 19, 2025.
“The leadership of JAC of NASU and SSANU, arising from a meeting held on Monday, 22nd September, 2025, decided to keep you updated on the current status of our agitations forwarded for resolution to the Federal Government.
“You will recall that in our last correspondence, we intimated to you about our letter addressed to the Minister of Education, calling for urgent intervention in outstanding labour matters affecting NASU and SSANU members in the universities and inter-university centres by giving the government an ultimatum of seven days, failing which members will embark on a series of legitimate industrial actions,” the letter stated.
“The unions noted that the government had responded by setting up a Joint Consultative Committee to address the demands.
“It is important to inform you that the government, on receiving our ultimatum, constituted a joint consultative committee to look into our agitations.
“The committee met on Friday, 19th September, 2025, and the meeting was chaired by Mr Abel O. Enitan, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, while the following stakeholders were also at the meeting; the Executive Secretary, National Universities Commission (NUC); the Director, Tertiary Education, Federal Ministry of Education; the Director, Trade Union Services and Industrial Relations, Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment, alongside a few other staff of Federal Ministry of Education.
“The meeting’s deliberations focused on our demands, but concrete resolutions of our requests have not been met, necessitating the continuation of discussions,” the letter read.
“Consequently, the unions said the ultimatum has been extended by an additional two weeks, starting from Tuesday, September 24, 2025.
“In view of this, the JAC of NASU and SSANU has resolved to extend the ultimatum by an additional two weeks, effective today.
“This extension provides the government with an opportunity to initiate the requisite processes to address our demands.
“If the government fails to do the needful within this extended period, the JAC will summarily proceed with a series of legitimate industrial actions upon expiration of the extension,” the letter concluded.