Polytechnic workers have warned that years of unpaid allowances and deteriorating working conditions could force them to embark on an indefinite strike if the Federal Government fails to address their grievances before the end of July 2026.
The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Polytechnics (SSANIP) issued the warning following the conclusion of its 80th General Executive Council (GEC) meeting in Abuja.
In the statement jointly signed by National President Philip Adebanjo Ogunsipe and National Secretary Nura Shehu Gaya, the said its members have endured prolonged delays in the payment of statutory entitlements, leaving many under significant financial strain.
The GEC-in-Session decried the “continuous and protracted delay in the release and payment of outstanding promotion arrears for the years 2021 to 2025,” warning that affected members were being subjected to “avoidable financial hardship and psychological distress.”
SSANIP also condemned the continued withholding of salary increase arrears due to non-teaching staff in federal polytechnics.
The union described the alleged non-payment of the “one-year 25%/35% salary increment arrears” owed to non-teaching staff as unfair, demoralising, and detrimental to employee morale.
Beyond remuneration, SSANIP expressed concern over worsening insecurity across polytechnic campuses. It lamented recurring attacks on institutions, saying the situation had “created an atmosphere of severe panic, causing staff and students to flee the institution for safety.”
The union further criticised delays in the disbursement of National Housing Fund home renovation loans, alleging that its members had been unfairly excluded despite years of consistent salary deductions.
SSANIP also raised concerns about what it described as a lack of transparency in the implementation of the Yayale Ahmed Committee report, alleging that the outcomes of the committee’s work had not been communicated equitably to the union.
While reiterating its commitment to industrial peace, SSANIP warned that members’ patience had reached its limit. It said failure by the Federal Government to release implementation directives for the Yayale Ahmed Committee report before the end of July 2026 would leave the union with no option but to direct its members nationwide to embark on an indefinite industrial action.
The union stressed that “industrial harmony is a two-way street,” adding that the patience of its members had been “stretched to its elastic limit.”
