•Protesting varsity lecturers
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU), University of Ilorin Branch, has raised fresh alarm over the worsening plight of academics, lamenting that professors now struggle for public buses with their students due to the erosion of their earnings.
They spoke during a press conference yesterday after a peaceful rally within the campus to highlight their grievances shortly after rising from its congress.
Placards displayed during the protest read, “Honour and implement your agreement with ASUU,” “We demand improved facilities in our universities,” “University workers are not slaves,” and “Increase budgetary allocation for education” among others.
ASUU said the protest was to alert Nigerians to a looming crisis in the university system caused by the government’s failure to honour agreements reached with the union, reports Daily Trust.
The branch chairman said the union has endured 16 years of stagnant salaries, adding that the situation has become humiliating for scholars who once enjoyed pride of place in society.
“When we started this struggle, fuel was about N200 to N300. But as we speak today, our professors here are standing by the roadside to join buses meant for students. That cannot be more insulting or ridiculous,” the chairman said.
He revealed that many lecturers now sleep in their offices to cut costs and save time.
“If you don’t, and you live far away with the need to come to the office five times a week, you already know what that means,” he added.
According to him, “we have lost count of those affected by financial distress and even to buy medication has become an issue. People here are owed about 10 months’ salaries, and the government is still holding back three and a half months. Yet we do not go to different markets to make ends meet,” he lamented.
The union reiterated its long-standing demands, including the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding and revitalisation of universities, restoration of autonomy, settlement of withheld salaries, payment of outstanding promotion arrears, and mainstreaming of the Earned Academic Allowance.
ASUU said successive government committees, from the Wale Babalakin panel to the late Professor Nimi Briggs committee, had all ended in futility, despite producing draft agreements with the union.
It urged the current administration to show sincerity by implementing the Yayale Ahmed report submitted earlier this year, warning that its members were tired of being dragged along without results.
On funding, the union criticised the federal government for allocating only seven percent of the 2025 budget to education, far below the UNESCO-recommended benchmark of 15 to 26 percent.
It lamented the unfulfilled promise of a N150 billion investment in the sector, saying underfunding had crippled research, decayed facilities, and left Nigerian universities off the global radar.
The body also condemned the assault on university autonomy through the dissolution of governing councils, imposition of acting Vice Chancellors, and a centralised curriculum imposed by the National Universities Commission.
On outstanding payments, ASUU demanded immediate settlement of the 3 1⁄2 months withheld salaries from the 2022 strike, arrears of the 25 to 35 percent wage award, as well as unremitted third-party deductions such as pension and cooperative dues.
It further highlighted the non-payment of promotion arrears for over four years and the shortfall of N10 billion in Earned Academic Allowance disbursement.
The union said the cumulative neglect had demoralised academics, worsened the brain drain, and deepened poverty among lecturers who are struggling to meet basic needs.
ASUU noted that while it remained committed to peace, the welfare of its members could no longer be sacrificed to the government’s delay tactics. “We love this country, but we will not allow our members to continue to suffer humiliation,” the chairman said.
The Union called on the federal government to urgently implement the recommendations of the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed report and other long-standing agreements with the union.
“The general public is once again invited to prevail on the government to accede to all our demands to avert another disruption of academic calendars in our universities.
“This continued inaction has further pauperised Nigerian academics compared to their global counterparts. All renegotiation efforts initiated by the Federal Government itself have led nowhere, as the resulting draft agreements were never implemented,” he said.
He noted that the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed report, submitted in February 2025, addressed all contentious issues and reflected consensus with ASUU.
He declared that “A true test of the government’s sincerity now lies in how it handles that report”.
He cautioned that while a meeting with the government has been fixed for August 28, 2025, members are running out of patience and may no longer tolerate endless delays.
“The current state of our university system urgently demands attention due to years of persistent neglect and visible decline that have nearly brought the sector to its knees”, he added.
