The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a two-week nationwide warning strike, accusing the Federal Government of failing to meet its long-standing demands.
ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the strike during a press briefing at the union’s headquarters in the University of Abuja on Sunday.
He said all university branches across Nigeria have been directed to withdraw their services starting midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025.
Piwuna said the decision followed the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government on September 28.
“There is nothing sufficient on ground to stop the implementation of the ASUU-NEC’s resolution,” he said. “The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive.”
The union accused the government of deliberately delaying negotiations despite multiple meetings and written assurances.
According to Piwuna, ASUU’s National Executive Council (NEC) reviewed a recent letter from the Federal Government’s negotiation team, chaired by Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, but found it unsatisfactory.
“They had asked for two weeks about two weeks ago, and now they are requesting another three weeks,” he said. “Our NEC sees this as a delay tactic.”
While acknowledging that the Education Minister, Dr. Tunji Alausa, helped release ₦50 billion in Earned Academic Allowances (EAA), Piwuna said the payment only covered a fraction of what was owed. “The total amount stands at ₦103 billion,” he explained.
“Even the ₦50 billion released was reduced by 20 percent to pay other unions like SSANU and NASU, which we accepted in good faith.”
He added that university lecturers were still being owed 12 months’ arrears of a 25–35 percent salary increase approved by the Tinubu administration.
“We also have three and a half months of withheld salaries from the 2022 strike,” Piwuna said, calling the government’s stance “punitive and unfair.”
On the controversial no work, no pay policy, the ASUU president said the industrial court’s decision left the matter at the government’s discretion.
“The court didn’t compel payment; it simply said it was up to the government,” he explained.
He warned that ASUU’s patience was wearing thin, stressing that the union had made several sacrifices to protect Nigeria’s education system.
“We commend Dr. Alausa’s efforts, but Nigerians must understand that we too have made sacrifices,” he said.
Piwuna insisted the warning strike was necessary to force the government to act.
“We have exhausted dialogue and patience. This action is our last resort,” he said.
The strike will affect all federal and state universities, disrupting lectures, research, and administrative activities nationwide.