The Federal Government has scheduled a meeting with the leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non Academic Staff Union of Universities and Allied Institutions (NASU) for Wednesday, 29 April 2026, as it moves to forestall a looming strike over a disputed 30% salary increase.

Highly placed sources confirmed the development to our correspondent in Abuja on Monday, disclosing that formal invitations had already been dispatched to both unions.

"The government has written to the leadership of the unions and invited us to a meeting on Wednesday. We will be there to hear what they have to say, but the truth is that our ultimatum still stands," one source revealed.

A second source corroborated the meeting, stating: "It is true, we have been invited to a meeting on April 29, which is Wednesday, and we will be there."

The crisis stems from a letter by the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, addressed to the National Universities Commission, the National Commission for Colleges of Education, and the National Board for Technical Education, announcing a 30% pay rise for non academic staff in federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.

The Joint Action Committee (JAC) of SSANU and NASU rejected the announcement outright, describing it as shocking and unacceptable in a strongly worded letter signed by JAC President Mohammed Ibrahim and Secretary General Peters A. Adeyemi.

"We write with utmost respect to draw your urgent attention to the letter being circulated on social media, purportedly signed by you. We have not reached any conclusion warranting the award, which is alien to the tradition of collective bargaining," the letter read.

The unions maintained that the purported increment did not emerge from ongoing negotiations, which are currently being handled by a committee chaired by Dr Yayale Ahmed, and warned that enforcing it would violate established labour processes.

"We are not part of it, and the two unions are not ready to take anything less than what may be agreed upon collectively with the negotiation committee," the JAC added.

The unions also demanded the immediate withdrawal of the circulating document and called on Alausa to retract the letter publicly. Their agitation follows a recent 40% salary increase granted to members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities.