ASUU Warns of Nationwide Strike, Accuses Government of Broken Promises

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that a nationwide strike could soon disrupt academic activities across Nigeria’s public universities, accusing the Federal Government of neglecting agreements and worsening the plight of lecturers. In a statement issued by National President, Prof Chris Piwuna, the union said the government had “pushed it to the wall,” describing how lecturers continue to work under dire conditions.

According to ASUU, many lecturers teach “on empty stomachs” while conducting research without access to essential journals, books, chemicals, or reagents. They are forced to engage communities and agencies in dilapidated vehicles, all while struggling with unpaid bills, children’s school fees, and other pressing responsibilities. The union lamented that, despite these hardships, universities are often blamed for producing unemployable graduates and failing to drive innovative research.

ASUU accused both state and federal governments of failing to honour the principles of collective bargaining as outlined in International Labour Organisation conventions, citing the unresolved renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement. The union noted that the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed committee submitted a draft agreement to the government in December 2024, yet no progress has been made eight months later. It stressed that disputes since 2012 have stemmed from the government’s refusal to uphold agreements on conditions of service, funding, university autonomy, academic freedom, and governance reforms.

The statement condemned what it described as the government’s selective implementation of agreements, relying on “platitudes and tokenism” while ignoring the morale of academic staff. ASUU also criticised recent initiatives such as the “Diaspora Bridge” programme, which seeks to attract academics abroad as volunteers, calling it “hypocrisy” in light of the government’s history of driving talent away and withholding salaries during strikes.

The union expressed alarm over political interference in university leadership, warning that some governing councils are turning institutions “built on merit and scholarship” into political commodities through compromised appointments of vice chancellors.

ASUU urged all “genuine patriots” to press both federal and state authorities to resolve the lingering labour disputes in the university system, warning that Nigerian academics are “tired of governments’ excuses” and that failure to act could trigger another industrial crisis.