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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says the federal government’s appeal asking the union to suspend its proposed warning strike came a little too late.
The union blamed the government for its slow response to their demands, lamenting that the government waited until just two working days before the strike to make the appeal.
“The problem we have with this government and this Ministry of Education is that they are slow in responding to our demands,” ASUU President Chris Piwuna said on Channels Television today.
“We went for a meeting in Sokoto, and at that time we were about to embark on a strike action. They gave us three weeks, we accepted the three weeks, but we never heard a word from them until the three weeks elapsed — not a word from them, courtesy to even say, ‘Oh gentlemen, we think we are running short, three weeks is around the corner, we are unable to meet with you on so-and-so date.’ Nothing, until we threatened action.
“Yesterday, they appealed to us not to embark on action. Our 2009 agreement — which is still being renegotiated after eight years — remains undone. We have not concluded on it, and two working days before a strike action, you come to appeal to us. I think the appeal has come a little too late.”
The ASUU president insisted that the union would embark on its strike action at the expiration of its ultimatum on Sunday unless an urgent action is taken by the government.
“Their ultimatum expires on Sunday, and after that, there will be a warning strike unless something substantial comes out from the government. So, in the next 48 hours, we expect to receive something substantial from the government.
“Then, we can go back to our members and ask, ‘Do you think this is sufficient for us to hold on?’ and we will do what our members ask us to do,” he said.
Strike Notice
On September 29, ASUU issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
In its notice after a National Executive Council meeting, the union decried the neglect of the university system and the government’s consistent refusal to heed to its demands.
“Apart from engagement with the press, in August 2025, members of the Academic Staff Union of Universities in both federal and state universities held rallies, carrying placards, on their campuses to press the government to address the lingering issues in the university system.
“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,” ASUU stated.
FG Appeals
Yesterday, the federal government appealed to ASUU to shelve its planned strike, assuring that it is committed to addressing all outstanding demands raised by the union.
Addressing a news conference in Abuja, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, said the federal government is already looking into the demands of the Union and progress is already being made in the ongoing negotiations between both parties.
The Minister explained that the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee had been reconstituted and inaugurated to fast-track talks with both academic and non-academic unions in universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education.
He added that President Bola Tinubu had given clear directives that all efforts must be made to avoid another disruption in the nation’s tertiary institutions.
