- ASUU ultimatum puts Federal Government under pressure as strike threat grows.
- Union accuses government of slow renegotiation and poor commitment to lecturers’ welfare.
- ASUU zones warn they will join nationwide action if demands remain unmet.
- Union insists unpaid salaries, wage awards, and university funding must be resolved.
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a fresh warning that it will resume a nationwide strike if the Federal Government fails to honour its demands before the one-month ultimatum expires, deepening concerns over another major disruption to Nigeria’s university system. The union says the ASUU ultimatum is a final signal to the government to act or face a shutdown of public universities.
ASUU’s Kano Zonal Coordinator, Abdulkadir Muhammad, told reporters in Kano on Tuesday, Nov. 18, that the government has shown little seriousness in renegotiating agreements aimed at improving lecturers’ welfare and fixing the collapsing academic environment.
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He recalled that ASUU suspended its warning strike in October to allow for quick resolutions, but says the opposite is happening.
According to him, the union expected genuine progress but has instead witnessed a sluggish process that threatens the stability of Nigeria’s public universities. Representatives from ABU Zaria, BUK, KASU, ADUSTECH, FUD, NWU and SLUK attended the zonal meeting where the concerns were raised.
He said reports from ASUU’s NEC meeting held on Nov. 8 and 9 at Taraba State University showed serious dissatisfaction with the government’s pace, describing it as a major setback to meaningful negotiations. Muhammad added that some officials were even misinforming the public about the true state of the discussions.
He criticised what he described as the government’s lack of commitment to halting the growing brain drain in the university system, insisting that the current offers on the table do nothing to improve working conditions or attract global scholars.
Muhammad also urged the Federal Government to place a moratorium on the establishment of new state universities, saying governors were creating institutions they have no plans to fund.
In Edo State, the Benin Zone of ASUU also stated that it would join any nationwide action once the NEC gives the directive. Zonal Coordinator Prof. Monday Lewis Igbafen said leaving lecturers on the same salary structure for more than 15 years was unjust and unacceptable.
He accused the government of lacking the sincerity needed to bring industrial peace to the universities.
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In the Calabar Zone, ASUU Zonal Coordinator, Ikechukwu Igwenyi, echoed the same concerns, listing the union’s demands: payment of 3½ months’ outstanding salaries, release of all withheld earnings, settlement of promotion arrears, payment of the remaining 25–35% wage award, and proper funding of universities.
The union also insisted that university autonomy must be respected.
ASUU warned that if the government fails to meet its conditions within the four-week ultimatum, another full-blown strike will begin.
“We shall remain unbowed, unbroken, and unwavering in this just struggle,” the statement added.
