By Joyce Ekeh
Tension is mounting in Nigeria’s public universities as the Coalition of Healthcare Professionals in Tertiary Education Institutions has rejected the position of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities, SSANU, over the alleged exclusion of health workers from the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Allowance, CONTTA.
The coalition, which accused SSANU of failing to protect health workers who are dues-paying members of the union, said it would proceed with legal action if the association failed to urgently address the alleged discriminatory treatment.
National Chairman of the coalition, Musa Shehu, disclosed this in a statement yesterday following a meeting between the SSANU National President and representatives of four university health workers over the CONTTA dispute.
According to Shehu, the meeting ended without a resolution after the SSANU leadership maintained that it could not intervene in cases where health workers had been excluded from CONTTA because some university managements were funding the allowance from their Internally Generated Revenue, IGR.
He, however, faulted the position, citing the intervention of the SSANU/NASU Joint Action Committee at the University of Lagos, UNILAG, which, he said, resulted in the payment of three months’ outstanding 25/35 per cent arrears to affected workers through IGR.
Shehu argued that the UNILAG development demonstrated that university managements could be compelled to deploy IGR to meet their obligations to workers where unions mounted sufficient pressure.
He said it was therefore unacceptable for SSANU to ask health workers excluded from CONTTA to wait indefinitely for the Federal Government to release funds.
“From all indications, it is clear that the SSANU National President and their branch chairman are not being truthful in their position.
“Telling health workers to wait for government to release funds for CONTTA allowance, which can take years, while other federal universities continue to use IGR to pay other non-academic staff is disheartening and disappointing.
“We expect them to fight for health workers in this discriminatory situation,” he said.
The coalition said the SSANU leadership had informed the affected workers that letters had been circulated to vice-chancellors affirming that CONTTA was meant for all financial members of the union.
However, the union reportedly advised workers affected by the exclusion to await the release of Federal Government funds.
Rejecting the advice, the healthcare professionals insisted that the eligibility of workers for CONTTA should not be left to the discretion of individual university managements.
The coalition argued that the allowance was negotiated between the Federal Government and the SSANU/NASU Joint Action Committee and should consequently apply to eligible members covered by the agreement.
It challenged SSANU’s national leadership and branch chairmen to publicly clarify the status of health workers under the allowance and put an end to what it described as confusion over their eligibility.
The group specifically demanded that SSANU publish a statement in reputable national newspapers affirming that university health workers are entitled to CONTTA.
It also called on the union to issue a circular to all federal universities directing managements to comply with the agreement and pay affected health workers.
Beyond that, the coalition urged SSANU branch chairmen to commence industrial action in universities where health workers remained excluded from the allowance.
The healthcare professionals warned that failure by the union to act could have serious implications for industrial relations within the universities, particularly among health workers who contribute financially to SSANU.
It said the decision to institute legal proceedings against the unions remained unchanged, accusing SSANU of failing to demonstrate sufficient commitment to protecting the interests of its health-worker members.
The dispute centres on the alleged exclusion of university health workers from CONTTA despite their membership and financial contributions to SSANU.
CONTTA, according to the coalition, forms part of the 2026 agreement between the Federal Government and non-teaching staff unions in public universities and provides for a 35 per cent upward review of emoluments.
The coalition maintained that workers covered by the agreement should not be denied the benefit of the allowance on the basis of how individual university managements choose to fund it.
