The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a 14-day ultimatum to President Bola Tinubu’s government, warning of a looming strike if its long-standing demands remain unmet.
The union announced the decision after its National Executive Council (NEC) meeting held on Sunday at the University of Abuja.
In a memo released after the meeting, ASUU National President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, accused the government of neglecting Nigeria’s public universities and failing to honor agreements with the union.
He said the lecturers had run out of patience and could no longer tolerate what he described as the government’s deliberate disregard for higher education.
The memo read, “At the National Executive Council meeting held at the University of Abuja on the 28th of September, 2025, the Union decried the neglect of the university system and the government’s consistent refusal to heed its demands.
Accordingly, ASUU has given the Federal Government of Nigeria an ultimatum of 14 days to address these issues.”
ASUU further stated that failure to act within the two-week window would force the union to embark first on a two-week warning strike, followed by an indefinite shutdown of universities nationwide.
The warning comes as an earlier three-week promise made by the federal government to resolve the dispute expires this week.
Sources told SaharaReporters that lecturers had held back their industrial action in expectation of government intervention.
ASUU leaders across the country have repeatedly warned Nigerians to brace for fresh disruption in academic calendars.
They maintain that the responsibility for any impending crisis lies squarely with the government.
Earlier in September, the Benin Zone of ASUU raised alarms during a press conference at Dennis Osadebay University, Asaba.
Speaking at the event, Zonal Coordinator Prof. Monday Igbafen said Nigerian scholars remained the most marginalized group in the country despite their vital contributions to national growth.
The Benin Zone covers several universities, including the University of Benin, Ambrose Alli University, Adekunle Ajasin University, Olusegun Agagu University, Delta State University, the Federal University of Petroleum Resources, the University of Delta, Dennis Osadebay University, and Southern Delta University.
According to Igbafen, government insincerity had pushed lecturers to the breaking point.
He listed the refusal to release withheld three-and-a-half months’ salaries, the non-payment of promotion arrears, ignored third-party deductions, and inadequate funding as major grievances fueling the crisis.
He warned that unless the Tinubu administration urgently addressed these issues, the university system would face another round of paralysis.
For students and parents, the threat brings back memories of prolonged strikes that previously crippled academic calendars and forced many into uncertainty.
With the clock ticking on ASUU’s 14-day ultimatum, the coming weeks will determine whether Nigerian universities remain open or descend into yet another shutdown.
