Samuel Omang
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a two-week nationwide warning strike affecting all public universities across Nigeria, beginning midnight Monday, October 13, 2025.
Announcing the decision at a press briefing on Sunday at the University of Abuja, ASUU’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, said the union had no choice but to embark on the industrial action following what he described as the government’s continued indifference to long-standing demands.
He explained that the 14-day ultimatum issued on September 28 had expired without any concrete response from the Federal Government. “There has been no meaningful engagement or progress,” he said. “All branches of ASUU nationwide have been directed to commence total withdrawal of services.”
The union emphasized that the warning strike would be total and comprehensive, in line with resolutions reached at its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
Last week, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, appealed to ASUU to shelve its planned strike, assuring that the Federal Government remained committed to resolving all outstanding issues. He disclosed that President Bola Tinubu had reconstituted the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Negotiation Committee to fast-track talks with both academic and non-academic unions across tertiary institutions.
However, ASUU dismissed the appeal as coming “too late,” accusing the government of poor communication and slow response to the union’s concerns.
“The Ministry of Education waited until just two working days before the strike to reach out,” Piwuna said during an appearance on Channels Television’s The Morning Brief on Thursday. “Our 2009 agreement remains unresolved, and after eight years of renegotiation, we are still at a dead end.”
He added that the union had earlier granted a three-week grace period following a meeting in Sokoto, yet the government made no further contact until the ultimatum elapsed.
ASUU’s grievances include the non-implementation of the 2009 Agreement, funding challenges in universities, unpaid earned academic allowances, and the government’s failure to address welfare concerns of lecturers.
The union also criticized both federal and state governments for what it described as “habitual neglect” of the education sector and disregard for the plight of university academics.
“From our rallies to press briefings and letters, we have exhausted all peaceful options,” Piwuna said. “This warning strike is to remind the government that the decay in Nigeria’s public universities can no longer be ignored.”