Non-academic staff of universities to be paid soon –Minister

The Minister of Education, Tahir Mamman, a professor, said on Wednesday that the non-academic staff in Nigerian universities may soon be paid part their withheld salaries.

The minister, who spoke on Wednesday when he featured on Politics Today, a Channels Television programme, maintained that the failure to pay the withheld salaries of the non-academic staff of the universities as done for their academic counterparts was not deliberate.

He said the development was a ‘communication problem’ and not a discrimination as touted in some quarters.
“I believe what happened was a communication problem initially, that was what led to this. It wasn’t deliberate to exclude them from that benefit,” Mr Mamman said.

The minister, however, noted that the ministry is working to ensure that parts of their withheld salaries are paid.

He said the payment has still not been made because President Bola Tinubu is yet to approve it.

“There are still outstanding issues relating to non-academic and technical staff but the government is looking into that,” he said.

“I don’t think it is safe to put a time on it. It is safer to say we are on it. We are pushing.”

He added: “SSANU and NASU also know I am one of them. They have my sympathy in terms of getting what is due to them. And we are doing everything possible to get relief for them.”

“Remember the whole foundation for that is there is a court judgement on no work, no pay. ASUU getting four months’ pay was actually a discretion and decision on the part of the President. So, it doesn’t automatically transfer (to NASU and SSANU) but the matter is under consideration. To me, I think we are making positive progress on this matter.

“And in any case, the non-academic staff, they were not on strike for the same period with the academic staff — about four months or so. So, if they are getting payment, it is going to be half of that (payment), if the President follows his precedent with the academic staff.”

Backstory

Workers’ unions in Nigerian tertiary institutions downed tools for similar reasons and varying periods in 2022, during which the Nigerian government invoked a “No Work, No Pay” policy and withheld the workers’ salaries for the period they were on strike.

The longest of the strikes was by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) which lasted eight months.

Other unions that also went on strike during the period are the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT).

However, in October 2023, President Bola Tinubu granted a waiver and directed the payment of four out of the eight month withheld salaries for ASUU members. Members of other unions, particularly SSANU and NASU immediately protested the directive which they described as selective.

In February, the government paid ASUU members, forcing SSANU and NASU to embark on a one-week warning strike in March to protest the ‘selective payment’.

Though Mr Mamman engaged the unions three days into their warning strike, the meeting ended in a deadlock as the unions say the minister couldn’t give them a specific date for which their emoluments would be paid.

Qosim Suleiman is a reporter at Premium Times in partnership with Report for the World, which matches local newsrooms with talented emerging journalists to report on under-covered issues around the globe