By The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has directed its members across federal and state universities to embark on a total and comprehensive strike action beginning May 1, 2026. The directive follows what the unions described as the Federal Government’s failure to meet key demands and conclude ongoing renegotiations.
The strike notice, dated April 30, 2026, was issued after a meeting between union leaders and top government officials, including the Minister of Education, Dr. Maruf Tunji Alausa. Other attendees at the meeting included the Minister of State for Education, Prof. Suwaiba Ahmad, and senior officials from the Federal Ministry of Education, the National Universities Commission, and the National Commission for Colleges of Education.
According to the unions, discussions at the meeting centered on the slow pace of renegotiating the 2009 agreements affecting non-teaching staff in universities. They expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of a clear timeline for concluding the process and rejected the recently circulated 30 percent CONTTA award letter, which they said did not adequately address their concerns.
The JAC noted that although the government withdrew the controversial CONTTA award letter and appealed for the strike to be called off, no fresh offer was presented to replace it. The unions also stated that there was no definite commitment from the government on when the renegotiation exercise would be concluded, further deepening tensions between both parties.
”It is necessary to inform members that while the government team appealed to the Joint Action Committee of NASU and SSANU to rescind the strike notice, they have also withdrawn the 30% CONTTA award letter. However, there was no new offer superseding the withdrawn award or a definite commitment on when the renegotiation exercise would be concluded.” The statement reads.
Union leaders emphasized that the decision to proceed with the strike was based on a mandate from members, insisting that only the full approval of their demands would be acceptable. They referenced earlier communications dated March 27 and April 18, 2026, which outlined their conditions for suspending industrial action.
“We hereby direct our members to commence total and comprehensive strike action in all universities and inter-university centres from 12:00 a.m. on May 1, 2026.” The Statement declared.
