The National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has scheduled a nationwide protest to begin on August 6, 2025, in protest of the Federal Government’s failure to pay three and a half months of withheld salaries and address other outstanding welfare issues affecting non-teaching staff in Nigerian universities.
The decision was announced on Monday following the association’s 59th National Executive Council (NEC) meeting. According to the union, if the government fails to act, the protest will escalate into a full-scale nationwide strike.
NAAT expressed dissatisfaction with the Federal Government’s refusal to implement the consequential adjustment of the new national minimum wage. This, along with other unaddressed grievances, prompted the union’s decision to mobilize its members.
The association had issued a 21-day ultimatum in June, urging the government to resolve lingering issues related to staff welfare and the academic work environment. However, the deadline expired on July 4 without any response or engagement from the authorities.
Speaking to reporters after the NEC meeting, NAAT President Ibeji Nwokoma criticized the government’s indifference, noting that the continued neglect of staff welfare was taking a toll not only on union members but also on the overall academic system and national development.
A major point of contention, Nwokoma said, is the Federal Government’s recent disbursement of ₦50 billion in Earned Allowances (EA) and Earned Academic Allowances (EAA). He alleged that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) received 80 percent of the funds, while NAAT, along with SSANU and NASU, were left to share the remaining 20 percent.
The union condemned the allocation formula as unfair and unacceptable.
NAAT also raised concerns about other unresolved matters, such as the need to mainstream several allowances, including field trip stipends, student-to-technologist ratio support, Students’ Work Experience Programme (SWEP) allowances, and call duty payments.
The union further demanded the completion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/NAAT Agreement, the payment of seven months’ occupational hazard allowance arrears, and the release of third-party deductions from salaries that were previously withheld.
Nwokoma warned that if the government remains unresponsive, protests will proceed in stages: beginning nationwide on August 6, continuing on August 13, and culminating in a major protest in Abuja on August 20.
He confirmed that NAAT branches had begun mobilizing and sensitizing members in preparation for the scheduled actions.
Despite the planned demonstrations, NAAT reaffirmed its readiness for dialogue and urged the government to take urgent steps to prevent a full-blown industrial crisis.
The union also called on members of the public, traditional and religious leaders, lawmakers, and concerned Nigerians to intervene and persuade the government to address the issues at hand, in order to preserve the relative peace currently prevailing on university campuses.
