ASUU Warns of Looming Strike, Urges Government to Honour Agreements

 

By Efa Sunday 


The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has cautioned the Federal and State Governments against ignoring unresolved labour issues in the nation’s public universities, warning that failure to act could trigger another industrial crisis.



Reacting to a recent statement by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, that strikes by university lecturers were a thing of the past, ASUU said it welcomed dialogue but insisted that only concrete action on outstanding demands would restore stability in the system. The union accused successive governments of neglecting the welfare of lecturers and the infrastructure needed for quality teaching and research.


According to the statement signed by ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, on August 8, 2025, many lecturers now teach “on empty stomachs” and conduct research without access to essential journals, books, or functional laboratories. He noted that despite these constraints, the public is quick to blame universities for producing unemployable graduates while ignoring the government’s role in underfunding higher education.


It further warned: "When a government punishes its citizens for demanding what is due to them, can it have any moral claim to democratic culture?"


ASUU faulted the delay in concluding the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, despite a draft submitted since December 2024. The union accused the government of cherry-picking aspects of past agreements to implement while disregarding key provisions on conditions of service, funding, university autonomy, and academic freedom. It also condemned political interference in the appointment of vice chancellors in some federal and state universities.


The union criticised the continued use of the Integrated Payroll and Personnel Information System (IPPIS), which it described as corruption-ridden, and decried the withholding of salary arrears and promotion benefits for lecturers. “When a government punishes its citizens for demanding what is due to them, can it have any moral claim to democratic culture?” the statement asked.


Calling on “genuine patriots” to intervene, ASUU reminded the government of its unfulfilled promises contained in multiple Memoranda of Understanding and Action signed between 2013 and 2020. “The time to act is now,” the union stressed, urging immediate resolution of the lingering disputes to avert another shutdown of universities.

Read full release below:












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