Abuja, Nigeria – Tuesday, October 7, 2025
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has directed its chapters nationwide to commence a two-week warning strike beginning Monday, October 13, 2025, following what it described as the Federal Government’s persistent failure to address long-standing issues affecting the nation’s universities.
The directive was contained in an internal memo titled “Strike Bulletin One” and signed by ASUU National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna. The document, obtained by World Lens, noted that the union’s National Executive Council (NEC) reached the decision after reviewing the outcome of a referendum conducted across its branches.
According to Prof. Piwuna, the government has yet to respond meaningfully to the union’s 14-day ultimatum issued on September 28, 2025, despite repeated communications with the Ministries of Labour and Education, as well as the Nigeria Labour Congress.
“It is now one week since those resolutions were reached and communicated to the appropriate authorities. I regret to inform you that there is no meaningful development deserving any consideration to be reported,”
Piwuna stated.
He explained that the strike action aims to compel the government to sign and implement the renegotiated 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement and to resolve other lingering issues such as university revitalisation funding, unpaid salary arrears, promotion delays, and withheld third-party deductions.
Piwuna urged union members to remain united and take instructions solely from their branch chairpersons, emphasizing that ASUU’s collective strength lies in its solidarity.
“The goal of our current action remains to compel the government to sign and implement the renegotiated agreement. We are strong when we organise, but weakened when we agonise,”
he added.
Meanwhile, the National Association of Academic Technologists (NAAT) has also issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government over similar unresolved matters, including the renegotiation of its 2009 agreement and unpaid allowances. NAAT warned that failure to address these demands within the stipulated period could trigger another round of industrial action across the nation’s universities.
The latest development raises concerns about another prolonged disruption to academic activities, as the government faces renewed pressure to avert a full-scale shutdown of public universities.
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