The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has made good its threat by declaring a two-week warning strike in all public universities nationwide.
The industrial action signals renewed face-off with the Federal Government over what ASUU described as government’s “deceptive and unfaithful” handling of long-standing agreements with the Union, .
National President of ASUU, Prof. Chris Piwuna, announced the strike action on Sunday at a press briefing in Abuja, saying the strike would take effect from midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025.
The strike follows the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government two weeks ago, during which the union demanded concrete action on its eight unresolved issues, including the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, payment of withheld salaries, and revitalisation of public universities.
Recall that two weeks ago, ASUU had threatened to embark on strike if the Federal Government failed to address its lingering demands within 14 days.
The union had said it was left with no choice after years of appeals and engagements with government authorities yielded little result.
Piwuna had stated that in recent months, ASUU has consistently drawn attention to what he described as the “declining state of university education” in Nigeria and its grave implications for national development.
The ASUU President recalled that in August, members across federal and state universities staged campus rallies to press home their demands, but “nothing concrete” came out of the efforts.
The union had resolved that should the deadline lapse without action, ASUU would commence a two-week warning strike, which could escalate into a total and indefinite strike.
“If at the end of the fourteen days ultimatum, the Federal Government fails to address these issues, the Union may have no option than to, first, embark on a two-week warning strike and thereafter, a total and indefinite strike,” the union said.
At the press briefing on Sunday, Piwuna said “Compatriots of the press, it goes without saying that there is nothing sufficient on ground to stop the implementation of the ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiry of the 14-day notice given on the 28th September 2025.
“Consequently, all branches of ASUU are hereby directed to withdraw their services with effect from midnight on Monday, the 13th October, 2025.
“The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive as agreed at the last NEC meeting.”
He regretted that nothing “significant has happened to change the position of NEC since we last briefed the Press on the listed eight (8) items as issues in dispute.
“The issues include conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN- ASUU Agreement, release of the withheld three-and-half months salaries, sustainable funding of public universities, revitalization of universities, and cessation of the victimization of lecturers in LASU, KSU (now Prince Abubakar Audu University) and FUTO.
“Others are payment of the outstanding 25-35% salary arrears, payment of promotion arrears for over four years, and release of withheld third-party deductions (cooperative contributions, union check-off dues, etc.).”
Piwuna disclosed that in a letter dated 30th September, 2025, the Permanent Secretary, Federal Ministry of Education, on behalf of government appealed that the union should withdraw the notice of the 14-day ultimatum.
The perm sec acknowledged that ASUU had been patient with government and shown “understanding with respect to the renegotiation process, which has inadvertently lingered over time,” 8 years.
The union however noted that what ASUU got at “An Emergency Meeting of the FGN/ASUU 2009 Agreement Renegotiation Committee” held on Friday, 10th October, 2025 was nothing to write home about.
“To say the least, the documents were neither here nor there. While the Permanent Secretary acknowledged in his letter that “Dr. Yayale Ahmed’s Committee has recorded commendable progress, culminating in the transmission of the draft report of the 2009 renegotiated Nimi Briggs Agreement to the Ministry,” the presentation to the ASUU Team at the emergency meeting was a total departure from the letters and spirit of the “Review of the Draft 2022 Agreement” submitted by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed to the Ministry.
ASUU said it will soon submit its position pointing out areas of deliberate distortion, inconsistency and flagrant disregard for extant laws, policies and practices to the Federal Government.
“Suffice to state, however, that the hurriedly packaged documents were provocative and incapable to dousing industrial tensions which had reached an irreversible pitch across our campuses.
“The Federal Government raised our members’ hopes in resolving the lingering issues before we held the August 2025 NEC meeting at the Usmanu Danfodio University, Sokoto (UDUS), by asking for three weeks of grace to sort out things. It was a hard-sell, but the leadership managed to convince NEC to exercise a little more patience.
“The pre-UDUS NEC hope was dashed without a blink! Government agents have again been pleading for more time since the expiry of the three-week, promise with nothing concrete for ASUU leadership to take to their members.
The union queried why a government that has been talking to the it for more than one year, through its Negotiating Team now resorts to “emergency” to address a negotiation process which has lingered for over eight years.
“Is it not a demonstration of bad faith that a government would rubbish wholesale a draft agreement packaged between its representatives and those of ASUU?
“And now that matters have come to a head, it is still appealing, appealing, appealing, and appealing to no end! This resort to appeals has only confirmed our members’ suspicion of government’s strategy all along: Let’s keep them talking! It is a betrayal of historic responsibility if we continue to fall for government’s characteristic game of deception and manipulation,” it said.
According to Piwuna, “history will not forgive intellectuals who watch helplessly while the working and living conditions of Nigerian academics further deteriorate, and our universities are further incapacitated to respond to the challenges of the 21st century knowledge economy.”
The union pleaded “for the understanding of our dear students and their parents. We equally invite other patriotic Nigerians including workers, media practitioners and civil society activists to join ASUU in this transformational mission.
Education Minister, Dr Maruf Alausa, had said on Wednesday that government had entered the final phase of talks with ASUU and other unions to resolve lingering disputes over welfare, funding, and the implementation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
According to Alausa, the Tinubu administration had already made significant progress with the release of N50 billion for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances, while another N150 billion had been captured in the 2025 budget for needs assessment, to be disbursed in three tranches.
But on Thursday, ASUU faulted last-minute appeal by the government for the union to shelve its planned strike action, saying the intervention came “a little too late.”
“The problem we have with this government and this Ministry of Education is that they are slow in responding to our demands,” Piwuna said.
ASUU had noted that for over 16 years, these issues have remained on the front burner, stressing that the demands have been raised repeatedly at national, zonal, and branch levels without meaningful response from government.
“It is over sixteen years now since ASUU has brought these issues to the media and the public domain. It means therefore that these issues are not new to you and the general public. For the past three months, ASUU has mentioned these issues at both the National, Zonal and Branch levels,” Piwuna had said.
