Healthcare professionals in federal universities have given the national leadership of the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) 14 days to address their alleged exclusion from the payment of the Consolidated Non-Teaching Tools Allowance (CONTTA) arrears or face legal action.
The affected workers, operating under the Coalition of Healthcare Professionals in Tertiary Education Institutions in Nigeria (CHPTEIN), said they served a 21-day statutory pre-action notice on the two unions on October 26, 2026.
In a statement issued on Monday, the coalition said its members were in the second week of the notice and would institute a representative class-action suit at the National Industrial Court of Nigeria if the unions failed to resolve the matter before November 16.
The workers alleged that thousands of clinical, nursing, laboratory, pharmaceutical and allied healthcare professionals across federal universities had been excluded from the CONTTA payments despite being financial members of SSANU and NASU.
They attributed the exclusion to the position adopted by some university administrations and bursary departments that healthcare professionals operating under the Consolidated Health Salary Structure (CONHESS) and Consolidated Medical Salary Structure (CONMESS) were not eligible for the allowance, which was based on the Consolidated Tertiary Institutions Salary Structure (CONTISS).
However, CHPTEIN said a Federal Ministry of Education circular dated October 16, 2026, had clarified that the allowance covered all non-teaching staff, irrespective of their union affiliations.
The circular, with reference number FME/TE/SS.IM/C./Vol.I/6, was signed by the Director Overseeing the Office of the Permanent Secretary.
Quoting the circular, the coalition said: “The Budget Office of the Federation calculated the financial implications of CONTTA based on the entire workforce of the Non-teaching staff on the payroll. Accordingly, the funds released to the Federal Universities are intended to cover the payment of allowances of all Non-teaching staff irrespective of their union affiliation.”
The coalition also noted that the circular warned vice-chancellors and other chief executives of federal universities who failed to comply with the agreement that they could face administrative sanctions.
CHPTEIN maintained that the affected healthcare professionals were entitled to the allowance and called on the national leadership of SSANU and NASU to address the alleged exclusion within the stipulated period to avoid litigation.
