The Federal Government has indicated interest in paying the striking members of the Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) 50 per cent of their withheld salaries.

Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, the Minister of State for Labour and Employment made this known while speaking to journalists on the ongoing federal university workers on strike and revealed that the president had directed the payment to be made in July.

?The President approved that they should be paid since July. The minister of finance is facilitating the instrument. He said he will pay them before the end of the month.

?The minister said he is on it. He has assured that they will get the payment before the end of the month,? she said.

Mohammed Ibrahim, the SSANU national president in his reaction to the minister?s statement assured that his members would call off the strike, even as expressed surprise that nothing had been done by the government after President Tinubu approved the 50 payment.

??If payment is made, we don?t have to meet. We will call off the strike. The economy is harsh. Our members are going through a lot. To commute to work is tough. The price of petrol and other logistics are so high.

?All of us working in the universities are not happy to see this situation happen. We had severally called the attention of those in charge of our governance to understand that our universities are in their states.

??We extended our patience by two weeks, then another month. Three months passed, yet the payment remained unpaid. So, we had exhausted all avenues of trying to pacify our members,? he said.

Similarly, Adeyemi Peters, the NASU secretary-general said that at the commencement of the strike, the government is yet to pay their owed salaries and that once that is done, the strike will be called off.

?The strike will be called off if they pay on Thursday. Until they pay what they promised to pay, the strike continues,? he noted.

Meanwhile, the industrial action embarked upon by members of SSANU and NASU has hindered the orientation programme organised by the Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Ile-Ife for first-year students.

Taiwo Arobadi, the chairman of SSANU at OAU made this on Tuesday, in Ile-Ife.

The SSANU chapter chairman said that it was a pity that new students, who were being exposed to the dos and don?ts in the institution, could have such an ugly experience while entering the institution.

Arobadi revealed that the union had directed the new students to remain in their hostels or return to their homes if they came from far distant locations.

?The offices would remain under lock and key and academic activities would as well be paralysed until the government answers them by paying their withheld four months? salary,? he said.

The members of the non-academic staff of the federal universities embarked on the strike to press for the payment of their salaries owed to them since 2022 by the government. (BusinessDay)

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