Nigeria’s public universities are set to grind to a halt again as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) on Sunday declared a two-week total and comprehensive warning strike across all federal and state-owned universities.
The announcement was made by ASUU’s National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, during a press briefing at the University of Abuja.
“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 September 28, 2025,” Piwuna stated.
He directed all ASUU branches to withdraw their services effective midnight, Monday, October 13, 2025, stressing that the industrial action would be “total and comprehensive”, as resolved at the union’s last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting.
The latest showdown between the university lecturers and the Federal Government marks yet another chapter in the long-running conflict over lecturers’ welfare, university funding, and the unfulfilled terms of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
Despite ongoing negotiations to avert the strike, tensions have persisted. Just last Wednesday, Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, revealed in Abuja that the government was in the final phase of discussions with ASUU and other university-based unions to address outstanding issues.
According to Alausa, President Bola Tinubu’s administration had already released ₦50 billion for the payment of Earned Academic Allowances, while another ₦150 billion had been earmarked in the 2025 budget for needs assessment — to be disbursed in three tranches.
However, with ASUU’s fresh declaration, the hope of uninterrupted academic activities appears dim once again, leaving students, parents, and the university community in deep uncertainty.
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