THE Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced that it will begin a two-week warning strike across all its branches nationwide from Monday, October 13, 2025.
According to Daily Trust, ASUU President, Chris Piwuna, disclosed this during a press briefing at the union’s national headquarters in the University of Abuja on Saturday.
He said the decision followed the Federal Government’s failure to meet the union’s long-standing demands, despite repeated engagements and notices.
“Compatriots of the press, it goes without saying that there is nothing sufficient on ground to stop the implementation of the ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiry of the 14-day notice given on the 28th of September 2025,” Piwuna stated.
He directed all ASUU branches to “withdraw their services with effect from midnight on Monday,” adding that the strike would be “total and comprehensive as agreed at the last NEC meeting.”
Last week, Piwuna had urged the Federal Government to resolve outstanding issues affecting lecturers while commending the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, for facilitating the release of ₦50 billion as part of the Earned Academic Allowances (EAA).
However, he noted that the amount represents only a fraction of what is owed to members, stating that the total EAA arrears stand at ₦103 billion. He explained that the union had earlier agreed to forfeit 50% of the allowance provided the remaining balance would be paid and integrated into their salaries.
Piwuna also revealed that 20% of ASUU’s ₦50 billion allocation was deducted to settle other campus unions, including the Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) and the Non-Academic Staff Union (NASU) — a move ASUU accepted “in good faith.”
While acknowledging the efforts of the current administration, Piwuna stressed that ASUU had also made sacrifices in the national interest.
“We’re not disputing that President Tinubu or Dr. Alausa have made efforts, but ASUU too has made great sacrifices,” he said.
He added that the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) held an emergency meeting last week to review a letter from the chairman of the Federal Government’s negotiation team, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, which requested additional time to resolve the outstanding issues.
“The letter from Alhaji Yayale Ahmed was considered by our union as a delay tactic. They asked for two weeks two weeks ago, and now they’re asking for another three. NEC viewed that as an attempt to stall progress,” Piwuna explained.
He said the meeting, which had representatives from all 70 chartered ASUU chapters, reaffirmed the union’s commitment to defending the welfare of university lecturers and revitalizing Nigeria’s public universities.
Piwuna lamented that the government has yet to settle several key obligations, including unpaid salary arrears, earned academic allowances, and withheld wages from the 2022 strike.
“We are still being owed 12 months of the 25–35% salary increment approved by this government. We also have three and a half months of salaries withheld from the 2022 action. That decision to withhold our pay is punitive,” he said.
On the ‘no work, no pay’ policy, he noted that the industrial court’s ruling was inconclusive, effectively leaving the final decision to the government’s discretion.
Piwuna warned that unless the government demonstrates genuine commitment to addressing ASUU’s concerns, the union will have no choice but to continue with the warning strike — and possibly escalate its action if necessary.
Nurudeen Akewushola is an investigative reporter and fact-checker with The ICIR. He believes courageous in-depth investigative reporting is the key to social justice, accountability and good governance in society. You can reach him via nyahaya@icirnigeria.org and @NurudeenAkewus1 on Twitter.