NAAT, NASU, others close UniCross offices over unpaid salaries

Academic and administrative activities were brought to a standstill on Thursday at the University of Cross River State, popularly known as UniCross, as four staff unions closed offices across the school over unpaid salaries.

The unions involved are the Joint Action Congress (JAC), Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU), National Association of Academic Technicians (NAAT), and Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU).

The unions directed their members to leave their offices and also stopped all skeletal services that had been ongoing in the institution, effectively shutting down operations within the university.

Following a joint meeting on campus, union leaders directed that all administrative offices be locked, effectively halting operations and forcing both academic and non-academic staff, as well as students, to leave the premises.

A union spokesman, who declined to give his name, said the action became necessary due to management’s failure to pay workers’ January and February 2026 salaries.

“We are demanding prompt payment of our salaries as and when due. Our December 2025 salary was only paid in late January 2026, and up till now there is no indication that January salary will be paid, let alone February,” he said.

Describing the situation as unfair to workers, the spokesman added that the unions had no option but to shut down offices until outstanding salaries were settled.

Reacting to the development, Vice Chancellor of the university, Prof. Francesca Bassey, said management was making efforts to clear the salary backlog as soon as possible.

Meanwhile, students have expressed concern that the industrial action may disrupt examinations scheduled to commence on Monday.

A student of the Media Studies Department, Alfred Obeten, appealed to the university authorities to urgently resolve the dispute to prevent further delays in the academic calendar.

“This strike will again affect our academic progress. We appeal to management to pay the workers and avert a prolonged shutdown,” he said.

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