The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has drawn a fresh battle line with the Federal Government over unmet demands that date back to 2009. The Union on Monday issued a 14-day ultimatum to the government, warning of a possible strike action if its long-standing demands are not addressed.
ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, speaking after a National Executive Council (NEC) meeting at the University of Abuja, now Yakubu Gowon University, said the patience of academics across federal and state universities is running out. He stated that the government has continued to show little interest in the plight of higher education in Nigeria despite years of repeated appeals and media engagement.
According to him, “You will recall that in recent times, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has been engaging the press very frequently. The obvious reason has been to draw the attention of the Nigerian Government and members of the general public to the declining fortunes of university education and its implications for the nation’s desire for transformative and lasting development.”
Piwuna added that in August 2025, members of ASUU in both federal and state universities held rallies across campuses, carrying placards and demanding government action. He lamented that “nothing came out of all these rallies and pleas. What is clear for now is that both the Federal and State Governments have a strong habit of paying little or no attention to the education sector in general and the welfare of university academics in particular.”
He explained that the NEC meeting held on 28th September, 2025, decried the continued neglect of Nigerian universities and the refusal of the government to implement agreed terms. ASUU has therefore given the Federal Government a two-week deadline to address the issues raised.
“Accordingly, ASUU has given the Federal Government of Nigeria an ultimatum of fourteen (14) days within which to address these issues. 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,” Piwuna declared.
He stressed that these demands are not new, noting that for over sixteen years the union has been raising the same concerns in the media and other platforms. He listed the issues to include “Re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement. Sustainable funding of our universities. Revitalization of universities. Victimization of our colleges in LASU, KSU (now Prince Abubakar Audu University) and FUTO. Outstanding 25-35% salary arrears. Promotion arrears for over 4 years and third-party deductions.”
The ASUU leader maintained that the government has both the financial strength and administrative capacity to fix Nigerian universities if it chooses to act decisively. He said, “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. For the past three months, these issues have been debated and combated in the media and other platforms.”
Piwuna also called on Nigerians to join the demand for urgent action to save higher education. He said, “We are therefore calling 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. This is the time to do that is right now. There is this common logic that; a pilot who hears an alarm of danger would refuse to fly so as to avoid a crash.”
Describing the ultimatum as a final alarm to avert a collapse of the academic system, he added, “The fourteen (14) days ultimatum therefore is an alarm to the Nigerian Government and ASUU as a Union believes that the Government has the muscle to avert this looming strike. As they say in English: a stitch in time saves nine.”