ILORIN, KWARA STATE– Academic and administrative activities at the University of Ilorin (UNILORIN) concerned a total standstill on Monday, Might 4, 2026. Members of the Senior Personnel Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Personnel Union of Educational and Associated Institutions (NASU) implemented an overall withdrawal of services, marking the start of a nationwide indefinite strike.
Objecting at the university’s primary gate, union members displayed placards with blunt messages, including “Pay kept salaries now” and “45% increment is our need, not 30%,” as they turned back vehicles and imposed compliance.
Read Likewise: UNIJOS unions join nationwide strike with peaceful protest at senate structure.
The Breaking Point: The 2009 Contract
The root of the industrial action lies in the protracted failure of the Federal government to conclude the renegotiation and implementation of the 2009 contract.
According to the Chairman of SSANU, UNILORIN chapter, Prof. Falowo Olushola, the unions have actually tired all avenues of perseverance and patriotism.
“We have constantly stated non-teaching staff do not like to go on strike unless pushed to the wall,” Prof. Olushola mentioned. “In March 2026, we offered the Federal government a final notice of Might 1, 2026. To the surprise of well-meaning Nigerians, absolutely nothing was done.”
Primary Demands:
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45% Income Increment: Outright rejection of the 30% proposed by the federal government.
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Renegotiation Conclusion: Finalising the non-teaching element of the 2009 agreement, a process ongoing considering that 2017.
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Equality with Academics: Ensuring non-teaching personnel get the same benefits and salary modifications just recently granted to scholastic personnel.
Union leaders emphasised that this is a”thorough and indefinite” action, differentiating it from previous caution strikes. Suberu Ibrahim, Chairman of NASU UNILORIN, noted that the variation in treatment in between scholastic and non-academic staff has reached a crucial level.
“Just this January, teaching staff were provided about 40% increase in their allowances and incomes, leaving non-teaching staff out,” Ibrahim decried.
“The university system bases on three pillars: expert, scholastic, and administrative. Why should one sector be sidelined?”
The Financial obligations Stockpile:
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2022 Financial obligations: Two months of wage stockpiles are still pending from 2022.
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Annual Financial Obligations: One complete year of outstanding defaults yet to be settled.
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Effective Date: Need for all increments to work from January 2026.
The withdrawal of services by non-teaching staff has actually struck the university’s logistics and facilities hardest.
With drivers, security personnel, ICT staff, and bursary authorities away from their posts, the school has actually become mostly dysfunctional.
Regardless of having actually kids enrolled in these exact same organizations, the union chairmen insisted that the strike is a necessary “destiny-shaping” relocation.
The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of both unions had actually officially begun the strike at midnight on May 1, following the expiration of the April 30 ultimatum.
With the unions pledging not to return till an arrangement is signed and executed, the 2026/2027 scholastic calendar faces its very first significant obstacle.
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