Lecturers vow to shut down varsities over unpaid allowances, unfulfilled agreements
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a two-week nationwide warning strike, directing all its branches across the country to withdraw their services from midnight, Monday, October 13, 2025, following the expiration of its 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government.
A circular issued by the National Executive Council (NEC) of the union, signed by its President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, and obtained by Daily Trust, confirmed the directive.
> “Compatriots of the Press, it goes without saying that there is nothing sufficient on ground to stop the implementation of ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiry of the 14 days’ notice given on 28th September, 2025,”
the statement read in part.
> “Consequently, all branches of ASUU are hereby directed to withdraw their services with effect from midnight (12:01 a.m.) on Monday, 13th October, 2025. The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive as agreed at the last NEC meeting.”
Union fumes over unkept promises
ASUU said the decision followed the Federal Government’s failure to honour several key agreements reached during previous negotiations. The union listed unresolved issues to include:
Payment of earned academic allowances (EAA);
Release of revitalization funds for public universities;
Settlement of withheld salaries of its members; and
Renegotiation of the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement to reflect current economic realities.
The statement, titled “Strike Bulletin No. 1” and dated October 5, 2025, stated that the decision was reached after a referendum conducted across its branches and ratified at an emergency NEC meeting held on September 29, 2025.
The union accused the Bola Tinubu administration of failing to take concrete steps towards resolving long-standing issues affecting the university system.
Despite several reminders sent to the Ministers of Labour and Education, and formal notifications to the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), ASUU lamented that there had been no meaningful engagement or tangible commitment from the government.
> “Negotiations have become tortuous and unproductive for over eight years,” the statement noted, describing the government’s approach as “nonchalant and disrespectful to the sanctity of education in Nigeria.”
ASUU also warned that the persistent neglect of lecturers’ welfare and poor funding of universities was fuelling the mass exodus of academics abroad, known locally as the “Japa syndrome.”
> “The union can no longer watch while Nigerian universities are stripped of qualified manpower and left in ruins,”
Prof. Piwuna said, stressing that the action is a last resort to rescue the university system from total collapse.
He added that the strike is a warning to the government to act decisively before the situation deteriorates into a full-blown nationwide industrial action.
With this declaration, academic activities across federal and state universities are expected to come to a standstill starting Monday, unless the Federal Government moves swiftly to avert the looming crisis.
The development has once again thrown students, parents, and the entire education sector into a state of uncertainty, as Nigerians brace for another round of disruption in academic calendars nationwide.
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