THE NATIONAL Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) to shelve its planned strike over delay in the payment of June salary to its members.
NANS made the appeal in a statement signed by its National Vice President on Inter-Campus and Gender Affairs, Felicia Akinbodunse, and made available to newsmen in Abuja on Tuesday.
Akinbodunse said that any industrial action by ASUU now would destabilise the stable academic calendar universities had enjoyed since the past two years.
The leadership of ASUU on Monday confirmed that a directive had been issued for all branches of the union nationwide to withdraw their services over the delay in the payment of June 2025 salaries to its members.
The union cited the enforcement of the “No Pay, No Work” resolution.
ASUU chapters in two federal universities, the University of Jos and the Yakubu Gowon University, formerly University of Abuja, have already commenced strike action in compliance with the directive.
President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, who confirmed the development to the media in Abuja, said that the institutions were simply complying with the resolution from the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union.
He explained that the resolution directed that any month members’ salaries were delayed beyond three days; they should withdraw their services until the salaries were paid.
Akinbodunse however appealed to ASUU to reconsider their stand and shelve the strike, noting that students were always at the receiving end any time the academic union embarks on a strike.
She said that rather than withdrawing their services in universities across the country, the leadership of ASUU should engage the federal government in order to resolve the matter without any face off.
She recalled that since the inception of the President Bola Tinubu-led administration, strikes by ASUU had reduced drastically and students had continued to enjoy uninterrupted academic sessions.
She expressed optimism that engaging with the federal government in dialogue on the issue of delayed salary payment, would resolve the matter without the need by ASUU to down tools.
Akinbodunse added that students and their parents could not afford any disruption in the academic calendar, particularly in the face of the economic situation, appealing to the leadership of the academic union to be considerate.
She also appealed to the federal government to address the issue of delay in the payment of salary of the university lecturers and to find a lasting solution to it. (NAN)
