The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned that it is prepared to embark on what it called the “mother of all strikes” if the Federal Government fails to implement the 2009 agreements reached with the union.
The threat came from the University of Calabar (Unical) chapter during a press conference on Tuesday, ahead of ASUU’s crucial national meeting scheduled for August 28, 2025.
“Government has failed to honour agreements” — ASUU
Speaking at the briefing, the Unical chapter chairman, Dr. Peter Ubi, accused the Federal Government of repeatedly neglecting agreements aimed at improving the university system.
“The government made promises on these issues, and regrettably, we are here today to inform the Nigerian public that these undisputed issues have not been resolved for several years now.
ASUU has tried several ways and strategies of resolving the conflict in the education sector. Unfortunately, the government, in its characteristic manner, has paid deaf ears to our demands and constantly pushed our union to embark on strike,” Dr. Ubi said.
ASUU’s Key Demands
The union’s grievances include:
Full renegotiation and implementation of the 2009 agreement.
Sustainable funding and revitalisation of public universities.
Payment of the outstanding 25–35 per cent wage award.
Settlement of three months’ salary arrears.
Clearance of over four years of promotion arrears.
Remittance of all third-party deductions withheld by government.
Dr. Ubi stressed that the planned strike would be activated once the national body gave the directive after its meeting later this week.
The Unical ASUU chapter also urged the Federal Government to extend its moratorium on new tertiary institutions to private universities, warning that unchecked proliferation was worsening Nigeria’s education crisis.
“We have 72 federal universities and 159 private universities, making a total of 339 universities nationwide. This gives each state and the FCT an average of nine universities, excluding polytechnics and colleges of education. We are appealing that the moratorium be extended to private institutions,” Ubi said.
Last week, the Federal Executive Council (FEC) approved a seven-year suspension on the creation of new federal universities, polytechnics, and colleges of education, citing overstretched resources, under-utilised institutions, and declining academic quality.
However, the Council still approved nine new universities after a presentation by Education Minister Dr. Tunji Alausa.
If ASUU proceeds with the strike, it will be the latest in a series of prolonged industrial actions that have repeatedly disrupted academic calendars, leaving students stranded and worsening Nigeria’s education woes.
The Federal Government has yet to officially respond to the latest threat.
