ASUU commences two-week strike over unmet demands

The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has declared a two-week nationwide warning strike, set to begin at 12:01 a.m. on Monday, October 13, 2025, following the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum issued to the Federal Government to meet its long-standing demands.

ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the decision during a press briefing on Sunday in Abuja, directing members across all branches to withdraw their services immediately.

Piwuna said the action became necessary after several rounds of meetings with government representatives failed to yield concrete results. He lamented that the government had continued to ask for time without taking meaningful steps to address the issues.

“The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive as agreed at our last NEC meeting,” Piwuna stated, adding that the union may declare an indefinite strike if the government fails to act within the two-week period.

He stressed that the strike is aimed at compelling the government to honor outstanding agreements and tackle persistent challenges affecting Nigeria’s public universities.

“This struggle is not just for university lecturers; it is for the soul of public education in Nigeria,” he said, urging civil society groups and concerned Nigerians to intervene and prevail on the government to resolve the crisis.

ASUU’s seven-point demands include the re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, sustainable funding and revitalization of universities, and an end to the victimization of ASUU members in some institutions, including Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University (formerly KSU), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO).

Other demands are the payment of outstanding 25–35 percent salary arrears, promotion arrears spanning over four years, and remittance of third-party deductions.

Piwuna emphasized that the union had shown restraint to avoid disrupting the academic calendar but was left with no alternative due to what he described as the government’s insensitivity.