SSANU warns FG over delayed 2009 agreement renegotiation

The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) is expressing significant concern over the protracted delay in renegotiating the 2009 agreement between university unions and the Federal Government. National Vice President of SSANU's Western Zone, Dr. Abdussobour Salaam, stated that members are increasingly agitated by the ongoing delays, warning that their patience is rapidly diminishing.

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Our charge here is to see that those pressing issues that affect our members, particularly the issue of renegotiation of our 2009 agreement, which has been long in coming, are resolved within the shortest possible time.

Salaam made these remarks during the 79th Zonal Executive Council meeting in Ogun State, which gathered representatives from 26 universities. The meeting focused on critical issues including career progression, remuneration, conflict management, and the unresolved 2009 agreement. "Our charge here is to see that those pressing issues that affect our members, particularly the issue of renegotiation of our 2009 agreement, which has been long in coming, are resolved within the shortest possible time," he said.

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We are almost concluding the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government. The renegotiation is chaired by Yayale Ahmed; we are almost done with it, but it has not been without challenges.

Despite challenges, Salaam indicated that the renegotiation process, led by former Head of the Civil Service, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, is nearing its conclusion. He credited President Bola Tinubu for maintaining the platform for these negotiations, especially after certain government officials had previously attempted to disrupt the process. "We are almost concluding the renegotiation of the 2009 agreement with the Federal Government. The renegotiation is chaired by Yayale Ahmed; we are almost done with it, but it has not been without challenges," Salaam stated.

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At a point in time, we had some government officials who were almost truncating the whole process, but we thank President Bola Tinubu for providing this platform of renegotiation.

The SSANU leader highlighted that the 2009 agreement stipulated a review every three years, a timeline that successive administrations have failed to honor. He urged President Tinubu to ensure that individuals or groups not directly involved in the negotiations do not obstruct the finalization of the agreement, particularly as it approaches completion. "We are pleading with President Tinubu not to allow extra bodies that are not parties to the renegotiation to truncate the process, particularly now that we are getting to the concluding part," he said.

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The last negotiation was in 2009, and it was part of the agreement that every three years, the agreement would be renegotiated. We were supposed to have another one by 2012, then another one in 2015, 2018, and 2021.