By Obasola Olatunde
University lecturers under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have warned of an imminent showdown with the Federal Government over unresolved agreements and what they described as the government’s persistent lack of sincerity in negotiations.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday, ASUU Abuja Zonal Coordinator, Prof. Adam Al-Amin Abdullahi, represented by Dr. Sylvanus Ugoh, Chairman of ASUU at Yakubu Gowon University, said the union was compelled to brief Nigerians because the issues at the heart of their struggle remain far from resolved.
Abdullahi recalled that ASUU’s National Executive Council considered the government’s proposals on October 21, 2025, and accepted them in good faith, despite being extremely inadequate. The union suspended a two-week strike on October 22 out of respect for students, parents, the media, and civil society.
“Nearly four weeks later, the Federal Government has not used the goodwill period effectively. The measures taken so far are inadequate and nowhere near addressing the fundamental issues,” Abdullahi said, stressing that the lack of urgency threatens public universities and their students.
Key points of contention include salaries, conditions of service, full renegotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, the release of withheld salaries for three and a half months, and outstanding wage awards and unremitted deductions.
While acknowledging minor government interventions, such as partial release of promotion arrears and certain third party deductions, Ugoh dismissed them as confidence building gestures, not meaningful solutions. He warned that the union would use “every lawful tool at its disposal” if the government continues to trivialise these challenges.
“The future of Nigeria’s public universities, as well as the future of our students, cannot be sacrificed on the altar of insincerity, indifference, and political grandstanding,” Ugoh said.
The union appealed to parents, students, civil society organisations, the National Assembly, and traditional rulers to demand transparency and accountability in managing education resources, urging Nigerians to pressure the government to act swiftly to prevent another avoidable industrial crisis.