Strike looms as ASUU threaten strike over unmet demands.

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has called on the Federal Government to, without further delay, release the N150 billion meant for the revitalization of Nigerian universities, in line with an earlier agreement reached with the union.

The union’s leadership also urged the government to conclude the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement and to pay the withheld three and a half months’ salaries owed due to the 2022 strike action.

ASUU’s new President, Comrade Chris Piwuna, made the call during his maiden news conference on Friday in Abuja. He criticized the Federal Government for what he described as paying lip service to education, particularly regarding the welfare of workers in the sector.

Piwuna condemned the government’s persistent failure to honor past agreements and warned that another nationwide strike in Nigerian universities may be imminent if urgent steps are not taken to address the union’s concerns.

He recalled that the government had agreed to release the N150 billion revitalization fund within four weeks from April 2025.

“However, we are still waiting for the government to fulfill these promises. The union also reached an understanding with the Yayale Ahmed-led Committee following the review of the report from the Nimi Briggs-led FGN-ASUU Renegotiation Committee in December 2024. Again, ASUU members remain in limbo, still awaiting the signing of an agreement five months later,” he said.

According to him, delegates at the recently concluded National Delegate Congress of the union thoroughly evaluated the government’s stance on resolving outstanding issues and expressed regret that nothing significant has changed over the past two years.

He warned of an impending crisis in the university system, stating that the irreducible minimum required to guarantee industrial harmony in the Nigerian University System (NUS) is for the government to urgently address all outstanding issues.

These include the conclusion of the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement, payment of the withheld three and a half months’ salaries, release of the backlog of promotion arrears, and payment of withheld salaries of sabbatical and part-time lecturers who refused to enroll in the discredited Integrated Personnel Payroll and Information System (IPPIS).

Other issues the ASUU president urged the government to address include the unjust victimization of ASUU leaders and members in some state universities.

“Beyond these, we demand the faithful implementation of all issues arising from our previous Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) and Memoranda of Action (MoAs) signed with ASUU since 2013,” Piwuna said.

On the state of the nation, the ASUU president lamented that more than six decades after independence, Nigeria continues to grapple with political instability, governance crises, multidimensional insecurity, economic uncertainty, neoliberal imperialist assaults, social discontent, and widespread poverty.

“Perhaps nothing speaks more loudly to Nigeria’s current state than the widespread insecurity that grips the land—from Boko Haram in the Northeast to banditry in the Northwest, the persistent farmers-herders conflicts in the North Central, kidnapping in the South, secessionist agitations in the Southeast, and jungle justice across the country.

“It is obvious that no region is immune. The deepening climate of fear not only hinders development but also exacerbates the fault lines among Nigeria’s diverse ethnic and religious groups. Security agencies are overwhelmed,” he stated.

He emphasized the importance of education in national development, stating that if Nigeria is to escape its cycle of underdevelopment, education must be placed at the center of its national rebirth.

Piwuna expressed concern that the Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund) is under threat of diversion and misapplication by government agents.

“If given the attention it deserves, Nigeria’s universities could become the solution ground for the nation’s multifaceted problems. ASUU has remained committed to the struggle for improved funding and revitalization of these institutions.

“The resources of TETFund, which should be directed solely toward this process, are being threatened with diversion and misapplication by government agents. A clear example is the diversion of TETFund money into NELFund.

“We call on all patriotic Nigerians and friends of the country to continue supporting ASUU’s efforts to rescue the nation’s education sector.

“A starting point for achieving this noble goal is to prevail on the government to address all outstanding issues from our previous engagements.

“This will create a conducive environment for addressing the welfare of Nigerian academics, ensuring the optimal discharge of their statutory responsibilities as the nation’s think tank and mentors for future leaders.

“ASUU remains open to dialogue. However, the union will not continue to stand by while the rights of its members are trampled upon and disregarded with reckless abandon,” he said.

ASUU also called on state governors and university visitors to immediately resolve lingering issues and reinstate its members in the interest of justice and industrial peace.

On the erosion of university autonomy, the union expressed deep concern over the non-adherence to existing laws in the appointment of principal officers in universities—an issue that has led to crises at Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka; University of Abuja; Alvan Ikoku University, Owerri; and Admiralty University, Ibuzor.

“Undue interference by the Office of the Head of Service, Ministries, Federal Character Commission, and National Assembly in the administration of universities contradicts the laws governing these institutions.

“The continued payment of salaries through the Office of the Accountant-General of the Federation using GIFMIS (a modified version of IPPIS), and the use of the Treasury Single Account (TSA) system for expenditures, violate the understanding reached with ASUU.

“Overtly and covertly, Nigeria’s public universities are being turned into battlegrounds during the selection of principal officers, as vested interests make incursions into university affairs for political, economic, and other gains,” the ASUU president concluded.