From Femi Folaranmi, Yenagoa
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) has demanded a beef up of security in universities across the country.
The call is coming against the backdrop of attack and abduction recently carried out in Abuja which involved a staff and the family members.
SSANU stated this in a communiqué read by the Vice President SSANU, , South –South, Azumah Cheta at the South- South Regular, Zonal Executive Council Workshop/ Meeting held at the Federal University Otuoke, Bayels State.
“ We want our security personnel in our campuses to be trained to carry fire arms to protect our work environment; both staff and students in order to avoid any criminal encroachment ,“ the communiqué stated.
The union furthermore lamented the state of affairs in the country and the treatment being meted out to its members noted that the Nigerian State and government of the day is “quite insensitive, untrustworthy, evasive, lacks integrity and seems to be unfaithful to the ordinary responsibilities she has to render to the plight of workers”
It frowned at what it called nefarious sharing formula of the Earned Allowance for the trance which is about to be released by the Federal Government, warning that it is “poised to invoke provocation among staff which is geared towards creating division within the university community among campus based unions”
“Let it be on record that SSANU South- South zone and its entire organs of the union totally condemn this skewed formula and call on Government and all relevant agencies concerned to retrace their steps in order to place things in the right perspective. We will not partake in such sharing formula”
While correcting the comment credited to the Minister of State for Education, Chukwuemeka Nwajuiba that non- reaching staff on campus are made up of Librarians and Laboratory workers as against a large number of Professors and other teaching staff, SSANU listed Registrars, Bursars, Auditors and other professionals as Engineers, Medical Doctors, Pharmacists, Accountants, Surveyors as its members.
The union also took a swipe at the management of the Ambrose Ali University and the Cross River State University of Technology for refusing to pay workers salaries.
The communiqué read in part:” We demand with all seriousness that the Federal Government should as a matter of urgency pay he non- teaching staff unions of JAC(SSANU and NASU) the N2O billion agreed as contained in our February 2021 Memorandum of Understanding.
“That the Federal Government should immediately pay our minimum wage arrears without any further delay on or before the end of December as we cannot accept any carry over to next year.
“We also call on the management of Ambrose Ali University Ekpoma and Cross River State University of Technology(CRUTECH) to pay salaries as at when due to our members as well as release check-off dues to the unions”