In justifying embarking
on the on-going indefinite strike, the Senior Staff Association of Nigeria Universities (SSANU) has alleged, among other things, that the Federal Government has applied double standard in its directive.
The allegation is contained in a letter titled “Notice of Resumption of Strike” and addressed to the Honourable Minister of Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu.
In the letter, SSANU alleged that in one of the two issues that have warranted the strike, “Directive from Government to retrench over two thousand university staff school teachers,” the FG had applied a double standard.
According to the letter, “by a circular No FME/SU/IVB/60/60 April 21, 2015 signed by Fayemi E.O; Deputy Director, on behalf of the Honourable Minister of Education, forwarded to Vice-Chancellors of Federal Universities for implementation, the National Salaries, Income and Wages Commission, directed that personal/teachers of schools affiliated to  institutions and agencies (i.e staff schools) should on no account be included in the nominal rolls of such institutions.”
This, SSANU said, is in violation of the 2009 FGN agreement with University-based staff unions: SSANU, ASUU, and NASU, which was freely negotiated, with the two agencies of the Federal Government being represented and which has not been re-negotiated.
SSANU noted, among other things, that this directive is a suspect to the point that it was not extended to the Ministry of Defence, which operates a similar system of education for various military arms, including the police.
“SSANU is extremely suspect on whose interest the two agencies of Government are operating given that the Ministry of Defence fund 100 per cent the capital and current costs of over 100 command schools owned by the Nigerian Army, the Nigerian Navy and its Airforce counterparts, including the Police Primary and Secondary Schools,”  the letter stated.
Moreover, the letter continued, SSANU had since two years ago when the sack directive letter was circulated, written “series of letters to government on the matter, all of which have not received due attention.”