NASU, SSANU Begin Protest In Lokoja Varsity
Members of Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) of the Federal University, Lokoja, on Tuesday commenced a three-day protest.
The protest was due to the Federal Government’s failure to implement the agreements reached with the National body of the unions in a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed on October 18, last year.
Members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU), Federal University Lokoja (FUL), Kogi State, on Tuesday, embarked on a peaceful protest, to herald the three-day warning strike notice it issued the Federal Government (FG).
As early as 8 am, the union members carried postcard and took over the gates and other areas of the Adankolo campus of the institution. Addressing newsmen at the gate of the institution after the peaceful protest,
Chairman, SSANU/Joint Action Committee, of Federal University, Lokoja, Mr Uche Onyedi, threatened complete shutdown of the varsity in the event of failure by the government to implement the MOU entered into by the parties, stressed that the protests mark the beginning of a series of industrial actions to be undertaken by JAC.
He listed the issues in contention to includes: Inconsistencies in the IPPIS payment; non-payment of Earned Allowances (EA); non-payment of arrears of minimum wage; delay in the renegotiation of FGN/NASU and SSANU 2009 Agreements; non-payment of retirement benefits of outgone members.
Other issues are, teaching staff usurping headships of non-teaching units in clear violation of conditions of service and establishment procedures; neglect and poor funding of state universities; and non-constitution of visitation panels for universities.
He specifically stated that the usurping of headships of non-teaching staff duties by lecturers was breeding corruption in the universities; urging the lecturers to face their duties of research, learning and teaching they were meant to do.
