The Joint Action Committee of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities and the Non-Academic Staff Union has actually required the instant withdrawal of a letter supposedly authorizing a 30 per cent raise for non-teaching personnel, warning that failure to do so might trigger an across the country closure of public universities.
In a letter dealt with to the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, the unions explained the advancement as disturbing and undesirable.
The correspondence, jointly signed by JAC Secretary-General, Prince Peters Adeyemi, and NASU President, Associate Mohammed Ibrahim, mentioned that the file distributing on social networks, presumably endorsed by the minister, had produced confusion amongst workers.
According to the unions, the reported wage change did not emerge from the ongoing negotiations between the Federal Government and university-based unions.
They insisted that discussions were still in development and no final contract had been reached that would validate the statement of any pay increase.
The committee noted that income matters should be resolved through cumulative bargaining, stressing that they would reject any unilateral decision taken outside the agreed negotiation framework.
SSANU and NASU preserved that they would just accept terms jointly authorized by all celebrations associated with the talks.
Settlements in between the unions and the Federal Government are presently being handled by a committee led by Dr Yayale Ahmed.
The workers likewise advised the minister to withdraw the distributing letter right away to avoid additional uncertainty within the university system.
Declaring an earlier final notice provided on March 27, the unions advised the government that it had till April 30, 2026, to conclude discussions on the lingering 2009 agreement.
They warned that any delay beyond the due date could interfere with industrial consistency across universities and inter-university centres from Might 1, 2026.
The latest difference contributes to a long history of disagreements in between tertiary organization unions and the Federal government over well-being bundles and unresolved contracts.
Although attention often centres on academic unions, SSANU and NASU have actually consistently suffered being sidelined in matters relating to wage evaluations and made allowances.
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Observers say unilateral announcements, whether official or viewed, often increase labour tensions because they damage confidence in the settlement process.
With Nigerian universities already facing funding challenges, staff migration, and repeated disruptions, another strike could even more destabilise the sector and impact countless trainees.
On the other hand, the Federal government had earlier authorized a 30 per cent increase in the consolidated wage structure of non-academic employees in federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
In a letter dated March 30, 2026, and signed by Dr Alausa, the increase was referred to as a Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance.
The instruction was sent out to the National Universities Commission, National Board for Technical Education, and National Commission for Colleges of Education.
The minister said the choice showed the administration’s commitment to enhancing the well-being and performance of non-teaching workers who offer essential administrative and technical support in tertiary organizations.