The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Monday, September 29, 2025, issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve lingering issues plaguing the nation’s public universities or face a fresh round of industrial action.
In a statement issued at the end of its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held at the University of Abuja on Sunday, September 28, 2025, the union condemned what it described as the government’s “persistent neglect” of public tertiary institutions and the welfare of academic staff.
ASUU President, Prof. Christopher Piwuna, who signed the communiqué, recalled that the union had organised nationwide rallies in August across federal and state universities to draw attention to the deteriorating state of the system.
He, however, lamented that those efforts had been met with silence from the government.
“If the government fails to act within the 14-day window, ASUU will commence a two-week warning strike, after which we may proceed to a total and indefinite shutdown of all universities across the country,” Piwuna warned.
The union’s demands include the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, adequate and sustainable funding for universities, revitalisation of public institutions, and an end to what it described as the victimisation of members at Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University, and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).
Other demands listed are the payment of outstanding salary arrears ranging between 25 and 35 per cent, resolution of delayed promotion arrears spanning over four years, and the settlement of all pending third-party deductions.
Prof. Piwuna emphasised that none of the issues raised were new, stressing that ASUU had consistently engaged the government in dialogue without any concrete results.
