IDRIS AHMED, LOKOJA.
No end in sight yet to the closure of Universities and other educational institutions, as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has warned against any disparity in salaries of ASUU, NASU and SSANU, threatening that the strike will continue.
The warning was handed down on Thursday by the Association during a press conference held at College of Health Sciences, Adankolo Campus, Federal University, Lokoja.
Chairman of SSANU Federal University Lokoja chapter, Comrade Adedeji Kareem Samurai, advised the Federal Government to, as a matter of urgency, put necessary machineries in place to address the unnecessary salary disparities before the ongoing ASUU strike is called off.
“If Government tries to implement the only 10 per cent salary increment for non-teaching staff of Universities, the on-going strike in the Universities will just be a preamble.
“What government should know is that we hold the keys to all universities’ offices, we go to the same market with teaching staff and have same qualifications.
“Therefore, we won’t sit down and watch this discriminatory planned salary increase continue.
“As an association, SSANU is commending the Labour Minister, Sen. Chris Ngige, for turning down the unreasonable wide differential salary review for teaching and non-teaching staff proposed by Nimi-Briggs Committee and ensuring all university based unions interests are protected and carried along, ” he said.
SSANU Chairman also warned against any attempt to force IPPIS on the University staff as “IPPIS is not taking nor addressing our perculiarities as our U3PS system and that of ASUU.”
The SSANU Chairman said, “We are also stakeholders, and very much eager to see our students return to the campuses by ending the strikes, which could stop our children from going abroad to study.”
Kazeem-Saurau called on government to view the implications of the ongoing ASSU strike on students, especially morals, joining bad groups and other negative social activities.
He therefore appealed to the govermoment to settle the grievances of SSANU, NASU and ASSU so that schools are reopened for the students to resume classes to avoid learning criminalities.
