The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has cautioned the federal and state governments to address outstanding labour issues in public universities or face another disruption to the academic calendar.
In a statement released from its Festus Iyayi National Secretariat Complex at the University of Abuja, ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, said recent remarks by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, dismissing the possibility of future strikes were premature without corresponding government action.
The union stated that academic staff across Nigerian universities were contending with poor working conditions, describing the situation as unsustainable. ASUU noted that lecturers teach and conduct research in under-resourced facilities while facing delays in salary payments, unpaid allowances, and other financial burdens.
ASUU also criticised the government’s failure to implement the 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, which was due for renegotiation in 2012. Prof. Piwuna pointed out that although the Yayale Ahmed Committee submitted a draft renegotiated agreement in December 2024, the government had yet to conclude the process eight months later.
The union identified key areas of concern in the agreement, including conditions of service, university funding, institutional autonomy, and reforms of the National Universities Commission (NUC) and the Joint Admissions and Matriculation Board (JAMB).
