Polytechnic Unions Give FG 21-Day Ultimatum Over Unpaid Arrears
The crisis in Nigeria’s polytechnic sector deepened this week as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) and the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) jointly issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding the immediate payment of outstanding arrears and the resolution of long-standing grievances.
The unions warned that failure to act within the given period would result in a nationwide strike that could paralyse academic and administrative activities across polytechnics.
In separate resolutions reached at their emergency meetings, the unions said successive administrations had failed to fulfil agreements signed with them, leaving their members financially distressed and undermining the quality of polytechnic education.
Top on their list of demands are the payment of accumulated promotion arrears, settlement of salary shortfalls, implementation of Peculiar Academic Allowances, and the release of the second tranche of the NEEDS Assessment intervention funds.
They also strongly opposed what they described as the outsourcing of quality-assurance functions, insisting that such responsibilities should remain within the Ministry of Education.
ASUP, after its National Executive Council meeting held in Abuja, stated that it had exhausted all avenues of dialogue but had been met with inadequate and contradictory responses from the government. Its National President, Shammah Kpanja, said the union was left with no option but to issue the ultimatum.
According to him, “We have exercised patience over the years, but our members can no longer endure the hardship imposed by government’s failure to keep to its promises. The 21-day ultimatum is to compel immediate action.”
On its part, SSANIP, at the end of its 77th General Executive Council meeting held at the Audu Bako College of Agriculture, Danbatta, Kano State, announced that its ultimatum took effect from August 27, 2025.
The association’s leaders declared that if their grievances were ignored, they would have no choice but to withdraw services nationwide. The union said its members had been pushed to the wall and were ready to take decisive action if government failed to intervene within the given time.
While government officials have acknowledged the concerns of the unions, they have hinted that certain financial commitments may not be implemented until the 2025 budget cycle. This response has been dismissed by ASUP and SSANIP as unacceptable, with the unions arguing that outstanding obligations must be settled before the introduction of new financial schemes in the education sector.
Education experts have expressed concern that if the unions make good on their threat, the polytechnic system would suffer yet another setback, with final-year examinations, accreditation exercises, and academic calendars severely disrupted.
Students, already weary from repeated industrial disputes in the tertiary education sector, fear they will once again bear the brunt of the looming shutdown.
The next few weeks are considered crucial. Stakeholders say the government must demonstrate seriousness by engaging the unions through the Ministries of Education and Finance, as well as the National Salaries, Incomes and Wages Commission, to avert an escalation.
Both ASUP and SSANIP have hinted that they are open to dialogue, but only if the discussions produce concrete timelines and actions rather than vague assurances.
For now, the countdown has begun. With the 21-day ultimatum in place, the unions insist that the Federal Government must act swiftly to resolve the crisis or risk a nationwide strike that would once again stall progress in Nigeria’s polytechnic education.
