SSANU and NASU ATBU Protest, Demand Dismissal of Labour and Education Ministers Over Unfulfilled Promises

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) at Abubakar Tafawa Balewa University in Bauchi have called for the immediate dismissal of the Ministers of Education and Labour and Productivity.

Operating under the Joint Action Committee (JAC), the unions accused the ministers of failing to address their grievances despite multiple promises. During a peaceful protest at the Yelwa Campus on Tuesday, the unions demanded the payment of withheld salaries and other entitlements, criticizing President Bola Tinubu’s administration for unfulfilled campaign promises and increasing hardship.

Protesters carried placards with various inscriptions and marched through major roads within the campus, chanting solidarity songs. Some of the placard messages included: “Ministers of Labour and Education should be sacked,” “Tinubu, pay us our wage awards,” “Pay us our four months arrears of withheld salaries and other allowances,” and “SSANU says: Tax the rich, subsidize the poor.”

Speaking to journalists during the protest, JAC Chairman Sulisma Jatau demanded the payment of their four months’ salary arrears and vowed that they would continue their struggle until their demands are met.

“This protest is geared towards making the government pay us our salaries. They must pay our withheld salaries, they must pay our earned allowances, they must pay all our entitlements, and the 2009 agreement must be respected.

“The Minister of Labour and the Minister of Education must be sacked. We demand their dismissal because they have promised us more than 10 times now, and we have not seen any results. As Honourable Ministers, they are supposed to be honourable in their actions, and if they are not, they should be sacked and replaced with competent individuals,” he said.

The JAC Chairman also described President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a “failure,” stating it has not met the expectations of Nigerians nor fulfilled its campaign promises.