Barely a week before the commencement of its planned nationwide strike, the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has begun mobilising its members across universities in the country.
The union said the decision followed the federal government’s silence despite the 14-day ultimatum earlier issued to all relevant authorities, including the Minister of Labour and Employment, Maigari Dingyadi.
Daily Trust reports that ASUU had, last Monday, announced plans to shut down all public universities in Nigeria to press home its long-standing demands. The union explained that the strike notice, which took effect from Sunday, September 28, 2025, would begin with a two-week warning strike before progressing to an indefinite industrial action should the government fail to act.
In a fresh letter dated October 5, 2025, and signed by ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, the union said it had no choice but to proceed with the planned strike due to the government’s failure to address the issues at stake.
Piwuna expressed disappointment over what he described as the government’s lack of meaningful engagement since the notice was issued.
“The National Executive Council (NEC) of our union, at its emergency meeting on September 29, 2025, after evaluating the results of the referendum conducted across our branches, resolved to give the government a 14-day ultimatum to resolve the issues contained in the renegotiated agreement transmitted since February 2025,” he said.
“It was further resolved that the union would embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiration of the ultimatum if government fails to take acceptable steps toward addressing the lingering issues.”
According to him, the resolutions were immediately communicated to the Ministers of Labour and Education as well as the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC).
He lamented that a week after the ultimatum, “there has been no meaningful development worth reporting.”
“As we enter the final week of the ultimatum, I wish to thank members for their patience and understanding throughout this long and tortuous negotiation process, which has dragged on unjustifiably for over eight years,” Piwuna added.
He reaffirmed that the objective of ASUU’s current action is to compel the federal government to sign and implement the renegotiated agreement and meet other key demands affecting the university system.
The ASUU president called for total mobilisation of members nationwide to ensure unity of purpose, urging them to rely solely on instructions from their branch chairpersons and zonal coordinators.
“We are strong when we organise but weakened when we agonise,” he said. “Our union has always acted collectively in solidarity—this action will not be different.”
