Non-academic activities at the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Bayero University, Kano (BUK) have been suspended as all the non-academic members of staff of the universities obeyed the call by their national unions to embark on a nationwide industrial action which started Monday.

Since then, members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU), National Association for Academic Technology (NAAT) and Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) of both institutions, under the Joint Action Committee (JAC), have only held meetings or forced their colleagues out of offices in a bid to enforce the strike.

When The Nation visited BUK campus on Monday, our reporter saw SSANU leaders distributing bags of Rice and gallons of vegetable oil to members as palliative measures against the strike.

SSANU Chairman, Comrade Haruna Aliyu said the strike was in the best interest of the public, workers and the education system and should not be misconstrued for personal and selfish interest.

“We have no option than to join our counterparts to press home our demands from the federal government who have deliberately refused to meet our 10-point demands even after we embarked on warning strike,” Haruna said.

As at the time of filing this report, the university had been deserted by students, lecturers, and non-academic staff while shops shut their businesses on campus.

At UNILAG, the Senate building, centre of the institution’s administration, was empty on Tuesday.

Security personnel stationed at the entrance of the building as well as the NASU, SSANU and NAAT members were on ground to make sure that no activity went on in the building.

Olugbenga Adenaya, Vice Chairman of SSANU, UNILAG branch, said they were there to monitor the strike to make sure that members complied.

He said the Federal Government had been paying N333.33k for allowance but the agreement was N15,000 for junior workers and N30,000 for senior workers, which had not been effected.

Comrade Ganiyu Adelagun Adeshina, NASU Chairman, said that the government was not bothered about the welfare of its workers.

Comrade Ajibade Kehinde NASU Chairman, UNILAG said; “we want the Federal Government to face its responsibilities and face the affected universities.”

He also said that the Federal Government sent a memo to the staff school teachers’ name to be removed from the payroll and that the Federal Government was taken to court and was asked to return the list of the staff school teachers back to its payroll but they are yet to comply.

Comrade Suleiman Lawal, Chairman of National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT), said representatives of the committee of vice-chancellor, budget office, office of the Secretary of the Federal Government of Nigeria, Salary and Wages Commission, the Federal Ministry of Education and NUC were present during the agreement.

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