The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned of an imminent nationwide strike, accusing the Federal Government of failing to honour longstanding agreements aimed at revitalizing and properly funding Nigeria’s public universities.
Addressing a press conference in Jos on Thursday, ASUU President, Christopher Piwuna, said lecturers have endured more than two years of unkept promises and deliberate government delay tactics.
He listed unresolved issues including the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, unpaid salary arrears, withheld promotions, and the welfare of retired lecturers.
“The general public should also note that ASUU has written several letters to the FGN drawing its attention to the need to resolve this crisis amicably. Lamentably, the FGN has always turned a deaf ear to our pleas,” Piwuna said.
The ASUU leader rejected the government’s proposed staff support loan scheme, describing it as a trap.
“Our members do not need loans. What we need is the implementation of agreements that will improve our purchasing power. Government is still owing us three months’ salaries, yet they are asking us to borrow money,” he stressed.
Piwuna also decried the unchecked proliferation of universities without sustainable funding, warning that the trend has eroded standards and damaged Nigeria’s global rankings. He lamented that retired professors, after decades of service, now earn as little as ₦150,000 monthly despite rising inflation.
The union disclosed that it will await the outcome of a government meeting scheduled for August 28 before deciding its next move. In the meantime, members will stage rallies across campuses next week to express their frustrations.
“Time is running out. We cannot continue to wait endlessly while the future of Nigerian universities is destroyed,” Piwuna warned.
The development has heightened fears of another prolonged ASUU strike, which could disrupt Nigeria’s fragile education system. The union last embarked on an eight-month strike in 2022, following a nine-month industrial action in 2020 the longest in Nigeria’s history.
