The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, signaling a potential nationwide strike if their demands are not addressed.
This decision was reached during the union’s national executive council (NEC) meeting, held over the weekend at the University of Ibadan.
While the union has yet to make an official announcement, a senior member of ASUU disclosed to our correspondent in Abuja that the lecturers are prepared to commence an industrial action if the government does not meet their demands within the 21-day period.
ASUU’s grievances center around the Federal Government’s failure to implement the renegotiated 2009 agreement, which has been a long-standing issue between the union and the government. In July 2024, ASUU threatened to embark on an indefinite strike over this very issue, but negotiations and temporary agreements prevented immediate action.
During a press briefing in July, the Chairman of the ASUU Gashua branch in Yobe State, Melemi Abatcha, outlined the major issues plaguing Nigeria’s educational sector. He emphasized the need for funding the revitalization of public universities, including the improvement of infrastructure, provision of conducive teaching and learning environments, better student and staff accommodation, and equipping of laboratories and libraries.
“Funding for the revitalization of Nigerian public universities—such as improved infrastructure, conducive teaching/learning environments, students and staff accommodation, and equipping laboratories and libraries—is critical,” Abatcha stated. He also noted that academic staff in Nigerian universities have been on the same salary structure since 2009, despite the severe economic changes over the years.
Another point of contention is the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS). ASUU has consistently opposed the use of IPPIS for university staff salaries, arguing that it undermines university autonomy.
Although the Federal Executive Council (FEC) directed the removal of ASUU members from the IPPIS platform in December 2023, the union claims that its members are still being paid through the system, which they describe as “obnoxious.”
The union also highlighted several other unresolved issues, including university autonomy, the proliferation of public universities without corresponding funding, the backlog of earned academic allowances amounting to N50 billion, and the withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries of ASUU members across the country.
