The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) on Thursday rejected the plan of the Federal Government to pay its members half salary for the four months withheld salaries.

Minister of Education, Prof. Tahir Mamman on Wednesday revealed that SSANU and the Non Academic Staff Union (NASU) would get half of their withheld salaries if President Bola Tinubu approves the payment plan.

In a swift reaction to the education minister’s comment, SSANU Vice President, West, Comrade Abdussobor Salaam told Daily Sun that there was no basis for the federal government to withhold members’ four months salaries ab-initio.

His added: “It is not an act of tokenism, magnanimity, or benevolence to pay us those salaries. We are not settling for half or three quarter, but our total salaries for the period.”

He further said: “The circumstances, contexts and situation of the matter involving another group which we were not party to, cannot be binding on us in this matter. We were never coerced to go back to work nor were we instructed by the Courts. We returned to work on our free will based on an agreement that we would not be victimised.”

Salaam said that the union cannot determine in figures, how much is the money being owed members for the withheld four months salaries.

“We were reached out to, during the warning strike but nobody has reached out to us since the strike was over. Things have been at a standstill and remain the same,” he stated.

On the implication of the Minister’s comment, Salaam said it shows clearly that he does not understand the issues or is being misguided over the issues.

He warned that SSANU would not take the education minister’s comments lightly. The vice president noted that the comment would lead to its members to taking a decision that would lead to unpalatable consequences for the universities.

Salaam said: “It is better that the minister acts well and acts now, rather than rolling clueless on a barber chair.” (Daily Sun)