The leadership of the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has commenced mobilisation of its members across all the universities in the country for an imminent nationwide strike action over the failure of the Federal Government to address the demands of the union.
ASUU had last week issued a 14-day nationwide strike notice to the Federal Government to resolve all outstanding issues, including the conclusion of the renegotiation of the contentious 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement.
Irked by the tepid responses ASUU gets from the Federal Government, especially the silence it has maintained after the union has served the Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa and Minister of Labour and Employment, Maigari Dingyadi, the two-week ultimatum, the lecturers said they have no other option left than to mobilise their members to shut the universities on the expiration of the 14-day strike.
According to the union, the strike notice, starting from Sunday, September 28, 2025, would first herald a two-week warning strike before embarking on a total and indefinite strike action.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, in a latest memo to all branches of the union, said the union had no choice but to shut down universities through strike action in response to the government’s conduct.
Piwuna, in the memorandum dated October 5, 2025, and sighted by Tribune Online on Monday, expressed regret that there had been no meaningful progress toward resolving the issue.
He said, “The National Executive Council (NEC) of our Union, at its emergency meeting of 29th September, 2025, having evaluated the results of the referendum held across our branches, resolved to give the government a fourteen-day ultimatum to resolve the issues contained in the negotiated document which has been transmitted to the government since February, 2025.
“It was further resolved that the union will proceed on a two-week warning strike at the expiration of the ultimatum if the government fails to take acceptable and satisfactory steps to address the lingering issues.
“The resolutions were immediately communicated to the Honourable Minister of Labour, the Honourable Minister of Education and the Nigeria Labour Congress.
“It is now one week since those resolutions were reached and communicated to the appropriate authorities. I regret to inform you that there is no meaningful development deserving of any consideration to be reported.
“As we enter the second and final week of the ultimatum, | thank you on behalf of NEC for the patience and understanding which you demonstrated since the commencement of this torturous negotiation that has unjustifiably lasted over eight years.
“The goal of our current action remains principally to compel the government to sign and implement the renegotiated agreement document, amongst other demands.
“The days ahead call for the mobilisation of every member of our union to ensure unity of purpose. No one should be left out of the struggle for our welfare, stem the J
‘Japa’ syndrome and reposition the Nigerian University System (NUS) for global competitiveness.
“We are strong when we organise, but weakened when we agonise! Our Union has always acted in solidarity as a collective; this action will not be different.
“Members are to take instructions only from their chairpersons. When in doubt, members should consult their chairpersons, zonal coordinators and attend congress meetings regularly for updates on further developments.”
Some of the demands of ASUU over time include: renegotiation of the 2009 agreement, funding of universities, particularly, revitalisation fund, promotion arrears, and academic earned allowance, among others.
President of ASUU ,Piwuna had earlier called on all well-meaning Nigerian citizens, religious and traditional rulers, parents, students, and all other stakeholders in the education sector to press the Nigerian government to turn its attention to Nigerian public universities to address the challenges in the system.
The ASUU President accused the Federal Government of paying scant attention to the demands of the union, recalling that in recent times, ASUU has been engaging the press very frequently.
Tribune Online
