By ADESINA WAHAB

The indefinite strike embarked upon by non-teaching staff in federal universities across the country started on a discordant tune at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, on Friday as the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions, NASU, went separate ways over the manner the management of the institution wants to share the Earned Allowance among members of the two unions.

This is just as SSANU members have resolved not to call off their strike unless all their demands are met.

The SSANU members, who held a Congress at the university’s main auditorium, accused the leadership of NASU of selling out, while they also accused the management, led by the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe, of trying to break the ranks of the non-teaching staff with the plan to pay N30,00 to every member of NASU, while it wants to pay SSANU members N15,000 each.

Leaders of the union, including the Acting Chairman, Mr Olusola Sowunmi, and a former Chairman, Mr Adefolalu Oriwaye, urged the management to have a rethink. The union also condemned in strong term, the poor attitude of the Federal Government to issues concerning them. It was gathered that NASU members had approached their SSANU counterparts to hold a joint congress, but the SSANU leadership refused, accusing NASU leadership of selling out. The NASU members subsequently went somewhere to hold their meeting.

The Branch Chairman of NASU, Mr Kehinde Ajibade, did not pick his calls and was yet to reply the text message sent to him to get his reaction. However, when Vanguard called the Head of Information Unit, UNILAG, Mrs Nonye Oguama, for official reaction, she promised getting back, but did not do so until when this story was filed.

It was gathered from a source that what the management promised was to pay all members of SSANU and NASU N15,000 each so that the money available would go round. Both unions at the national level formed the Joint Action Committee, JAC, to collectively demand some things from the government.

Among their demands are the payment of the arrears of new minimum wage, stoppage of the payment of their salaries using the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System, IPPIS, payment of dues of retired members, stoppage of the usurpation of their roles by academic staff among others.

The unions went on a three-day protest late last month before their national leaders called them out of an indefinite strike on Thursday. (Vanguard)

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