WorldStage– An indefinite nationwide strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) is imminent, with a two-week warning strike potentially beginning as early as October 13, 2025. ASUU issued a 14-day ultimatum to the Federal Government, which is set to expire on October 12, after negotiations over lecturers’ conditions of service stalled.
Latest developments and final negotiations came on October 8, 2025 when Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, announced that the government had entered the “final phase” of negotiations with ASUU and other unions to avert the strike.
Alausa has appealed to ASUU to shelve its strike plans, claiming that the government is committed to resolving outstanding demands and has been working intensely on a robust and affordable counteroffer, leading to government reconstituting the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee to fast-track talks with all tertiary institution unions.
In an attempt to show commitment, the government highlighted the release of N50 billion for earned academic allowances and the provision of N150 billion in the 2025 budget for university revitalization. The government also promised that all remaining arrears would be cleared by 2026.
However ASUU President, Professor Christopher Piwuna, has dismissed previous government assurances as “wishful thinking” without tangible action. He insists that the union is tired of the government’s indifference to the education sector and its neglect of the university system.
The current face-off is a continuation of long-standing disputes between ASUU and the government, with the union citing several unresolved issues as
failure to implement agreements. The primary issue is the government’s failure to fully implement the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, which covered improved funding and lecturers’ conditions. ASUU continues to demand sustainable and adequate funding for the revitalization of public universities.
The union is also demanding the payment of outstanding salary arrears, including the delayed payment of June 2025 salaries.
ASUU is equally seeking the resolution of outstanding promotion arrears and third-party deductions; new payment system over which the union blames the switch to the Government Integrated Financial Management Information System (GIFMIS) for the persistent salary payment delays; and lack of university governing councils, with the union pointing to the lack of governing councils in federal universities as another issue.
Commenting on the crisis in a statement titled “ASUU vs FG: The coming of another industrial unrest due government’s poverty of sincerity,” an expert in the education sector, Amoka reviews the looming strike thus: “In September 2023, there was a referendum from the ASUU branches nationwide to declare a strike. FG in October 2023 hurriedly put together the Yayale Ahmed Renegotiation Committee for the renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FG agreement. The NEC decided not to implement the referendum to give the committee a chance. The renegotiation job was concluded by the committee in December 2023 and the report was submitted to the government. No action was taken on the draft agreement report between the committee and ASUU.
“For a year ASUU waited for communication from the government without any. Meanwhile, on the 29th May 2025, the government celebrated 2 years of no ASUU strike and assured Nigerians of an end to ASUU strike. The minister of education was going around bragging that the president had instructed them to ensure there is no ASUU strike again. He said the reason for the no-strike was the continuous engagement with ASUU. Engagements that have yielded no significant results.
“Meanwhile, a professor has been taking the same salary of about ₦500,000 since 2009. They pretend that’s alright. The tactic is to keep ASUU in the talking time for 4 years.
“After waiting for one year since the Renegotiation committee was inaugurated without any meaningful outcome, the ASUU branches in another nationwide referendum directed the ASUU NEC to declare a strike. The branches said they ain’t interested in any talk again while dying in silence. A 14-day ultimatum was given, and it is now five days to a warning strike.
“However, after reading the ASUU Strike Bulletin of 5th October 2025 from the president, reminding the government that the 14-day ultimatum to the looming warning strike is halfway gone, the government today has announced the reconstitution of Yayale Ahmed’s negotiation committee to negotiate with ASUU, a year after it was first inaugurated for negotiations. I am still finding it difficult to understand what they mean. They must be thinking we are dumb and they are the smart ones. They see that move as a smart move to say we are still talking. Well, ASUU members are done with the talk. We are not interested in an endless talk.
“To the public, ASUU deliberately gave the government 2 years and 4 months to act on the crisis in our public university system. That was enough time to explore all possible avenues to avert any form of strike. But they were rather celebrating 2 years of no strike instead of properly utilising the time to solve the problems and ASUU has exhausted all the non-strike solutions.
“To students and parents, it is within our right to protest the ill treatment of academics and the university system. You don’t treat your intellectuals like a piece of trash and expect the nation to progress. It is also within your right to show your displeasure over the strike. Instead of staying at home and raining insults on ASUU and professors, the best way to express your displeasure is through protests just like ASUU.
“Either the students should mobilise their parents or the parents should mobilise their kids who are university students for a nationwide peaceful protest. That should quickly bring the stakeholders to a roundtable within a short time to talk and agree on a solution.
“Hold the government responsible as we count down to the beginning of another industrial unrest due to the government’s lack of sincerity on our university system.
“A nation without a sound education system is doomed. May our Nigeria and its education system succeed!”
But delivering government message, Alausa appealed to ASUU to not use strike action as a first resort, emphasizing that long-standing issues are being addressed with genuine political will from President Bola Tinubu’s administration. He cited that as response to the Union’s agitation, the government has reconstituted the Mahmud Yayale Ahmed-led Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee to fast-track talks with academic and non-academic unions. This committee, he says, is reportedly in the “final phase of negotiations” and preparing a counter-offer for ASUU.
Highlighting progress made, Alausa mentioned steps taken to demonstrate commitment, including:
Releasing ₦50 billion for earned academic allowances.
Including ₦150 billion in the 2025 budget for the revitalization of tertiary institutions.
The Minister acknowledged that lecturers deserve better pay but stressed that the government cannot meet all demands at once. He asked for patience, stating that the current administration is committed to resolving the crisis comprehensively and sustainably.
ASUU issued its 14-day ultimatum on September 28, 2025, threatening a two-week warning strike, followed by an indefinite strike if its demands are not met by October 13.
As of October 8, 2025, ASUU is actively mobilizing its members for the potential strike, with the ultimatum set to expire soon. Some ASUU branches, such as at the University of Jos and University of Abuja, have already withdrawn their services due to delays in the payment of June 2025 salaries.
While the Federal Government is appealing for patience and dialogue, ASUU has maintained its position, stating there is no going back on its planned strike if demands are not met.
