Academic activities were disrupted on Monday when members of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and Non-Academic Staff Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) of the University of Jos (UNIJOS) staged a peaceful protest to vent their anger over unresolved welfare issues with the university authorities.

They are also angry over delays in the renegotiation of agreements with the Federal Government.

The protesters, under the aegis of the Joint Action Committee (JAC), marched from the university’s main gate to the Senate Building, chanting solidarity songs.

They also displayed placards bearing several inscriptions to press home their demands.

The JAC joined other members across the nation’s universities, who had directed their members to commence a nationwide strike action from May 1, 2026.

Chairperson, JAC, University of Jos branch, Anthony Jauro, and his NASU counterpart, Monday Danjuma, who spoke on behalf of the protesters, expressed worries over the disparity in staff welfare and delays in addressing the concerns of non-teaching staff.

Jauro said that the unions had advised the government not to create division in staff welfare in the university system, stressing that it would lead to acrimony rather than enhance peace and academic freedom on the various campuses.

He noted that while negotiations with some unions had been concluded earlier in the year with partial implementation, others were yet to start any negotiations.

“We understand the President does not want strikes to continue, which is why a committee was reconstituted to look into our various demands.”

On his part, NASU Chairperson, Monday Danjuma, accused the Federal Ministry of Education of bias in its engagement with non-academic workers.

“My call is that the Federal Government should do the needful. We want them to know that the Minister of Education is taking sides and creating division within the university system,” Danjuma said.

While insisting that the action would go on as long as their demands were not met, he lamented that five months after an agreement was signed with their counterparts in the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), the demands of non-academic staff had been left largely unattended. (Daily Sun)

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