By Amofokhai Williams
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, demanding urgent action to resolve lingering disputes that continue to bedevil Nigeria’s public university system.
The union warned that failure to meet its demands within the stipulated time would trigger a fresh wave of industrial action that could once again cripple academic activities across the country.
According to The Alarmee, the ultimatum was announced after ASUU’s National Executive Council meeting, which ended on Sunday, 28 September 2025, at the University of Abuja.
In a communique signed by its President, Professor Chris Piwuna, the union accused the Federal Government of failing to honour long-standing agreements, thereby worsening the plight of lecturers and students alike.
Piwuna recalled that successive governments had made commitments to address core issues in the education sector but had repeatedly fallen short of implementation.
He listed among the grievances the government’s refusal to complete the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, the failure to provide revitalisation funds needed to address the dilapidated state of university infrastructure, and the continued delay in paying salary arrears and promotion entitlements owed to lecturers.
He described the present condition of most Nigerian universities as “a clear reflection of chronic neglect and misplaced priorities.”
ASUU lamented that rather than making progress, negotiations with government committees had become endless cycles of discussions without results.
According to the union, these committees had devolved into “talk shops” that produced reports destined for the shelves, with little or no effect on the lived realities of students and staff.
The union reiterated its position that public universities cannot continue to depend on irregular government subventions and short-term funding arrangements, insisting that sustainable investment was required to reposition higher education as a catalyst for national development.
The Federal Government, through the Ministry of Education, had earlier inaugurated a committee headed by the Permanent Secretary, Abel Enitan, to review ASUU’s demands.
However, ASUU argued that no tangible outcome had been achieved, adding that the lack of urgency displayed by the authorities reinforced fears that the cycle of unfulfilled promises would persist.
The potential consequences of a fresh strike are already stirring anxiety across campuses nationwide.
Many universities are currently in the middle of examinations, while others are at critical stages of academic sessions that had previously been disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the prolonged ASUU strike of 2022.
Parents and students fear that another closure will exacerbate delays in graduation timelines, increase dropout rates, and worsen the unemployment crisis among young people.
Since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, ASUU has embarked on more than 16 nationwide strikes.
The 2022 action, which lasted eight months, stands out as one of the longest and most disruptive in recent memory, leaving hundreds of thousands of students stranded and triggering nationwide protests.
Education experts say the recurring impasse between ASUU and the government reflects deeper structural problems, particularly chronic underfunding, inadequate infrastructure, and poor staff morale.
The union’s communique stressed that the strength of Nigeria’s future lies in the quality of its education system.
It called on the government of President Bola Tinubu to show sincerity of purpose by implementing outstanding agreements and placing education at the heart of its development agenda.
According to ASUU, no nation can rise above the quality of its education, and the progressive decay of Nigeria’s universities is a national emergency that demands immediate attention.
