ASUU to FG: Meet Our Demands in 14 Days or Face Fresh Strike

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a fourteen-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve a series of long-standing demands affecting the nation’s public universities or r+sk fresh industrial action.

The decision followed the union’s National Executive Council meeting held on September 28, 2025, at the University of Abuja, where it accused the government of persistent neglect and failure to honour previous agreements. In a communiqué signed by ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, the union warned that it would embark on a two-week warning strike if no tangible steps were taken within the given timeframe, with the possibility of escalating to an indefinite strike.

ASUU listed its unresolved demands to include the renegotiation of the 2009 FGN/ASUU agreement, adequate revitalisation funding for public universities, payment of outstanding salary arrears, and the establishment of sustainable financing mechanisms for the education sector. According to the union, these issues have been pending for too long despite repeated promises and committees set up by government officials.

The Federal Government had earlier inaugurated a committee led by the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Education, Abel Enitan, to review ASUU’s proposals, but the union lamented that no concrete outcome has been communicated. It stressed that unless urgent action is taken, the nation’s university system may once again be thrown into cr+sis, disrupting the academic calendar and affecting millions of students across the country.

With the countdown to the ultimatum already underway, the ball is now in the government’s court to avert another nationwide shutdown of academic activities.