Salary Arrears: FG Considers Half Pay For SSANU, NASU Members

The Education Minister, Tahir Mamman, has revealed that the Federal Government is considering paying half of the withheld salaries to non-academic staff members of universities, subject to President Bola Tinubu’s approval.

Making this disclosure while speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today on Wednesday, the minister disclosed that efforts were ongoing to ensure that half of the withheld salaries of members of NASU and SSANU were released.

Naija News recalls that earlier in March, SSANU and NASU had embarked on a warning strike to protest against the government’s decision to withhold their salaries, unlike ASUU, whose withheld salaries had been partially paid.

Following an eight-month strike last year for improved conditions, President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration applied a ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy, but President Tinubu later approved the release of part of ASUU’s withheld salaries.

Mamman addressed the delay in payments to NASU and SSANU, stating, “No, it has not been approved,” emphasizing that ASUU’s payment was a specific decision by the President and didn’t automatically extend to other unions.

However, he assured me, “We are on it, and we are pushing.” 

He further clarified that since NASU and SSANU were not on strike for the same duration as ASUU, they might receive only half of the payment if the President decides to extend a similar gesture to them.

The minister refuted allegations of discrimination against non-academic staff, attributing the oversight to a communication issue rather than intentional exclusion.