ABUJA, Oct 13 (The African Portal) – Nigeria’s Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has begun a two-week warning strike over what it calls the government’s failure to address long-standing issues affecting public universities.
ASUU President Prof Chris Piwuna announced the industrial action on Sunday in Abuja, saying the strike took effect from 12:01 a.m. on Monday. He said the decision followed the government’s refusal to meet the union’s demands despite a 14-day ultimatum.
Prof Piwuna said the union’s grievances included the government’s delay in signing the renegotiated 2009 ASUU–Federal Government agreement, non-payment of withheld salaries, poor funding for public universities, and alleged victimisation of lecturers at some institutions.
“It is regrettable that nothing significant has happened since our last briefing on these eight unresolved issues,” he said, adding that the government’s latest proposals were “provocative and inconsistent” with earlier negotiations.
He warned that if the government failed to act during the warning strike, the union would embark on an indefinite nationwide strike.
The Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Labour reportedly held last-minute talks with ASUU officials on Sunday in a bid to avert the action, but no agreement was reached.
Rival union distances itself
The Congress of University Academics (CONUA), a breakaway union, said its members would not join the strike.
Its national president, Dr Niyi Sunmonu, told reporters that CONUA had “no reason to declare a trade dispute” with the government and urged university vice-chancellors to allow its members to continue work.
Students call for dialogue
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) has appealed to both sides to resolve the impasse quickly.
NANS spokesperson Adeyemi Samson Ajasa said the association had held meetings with both ASUU and the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, in an attempt to prevent the strike.
Government expresses disappointment
Government sources told the BBC that officials were “surprised” by ASUU’s decision to proceed with the strike despite ongoing talks.
They said the education minister and the government’s negotiating team had relayed the union’s concerns to President Bola Tinubu and were awaiting ASUU’s feedback when the strike was announced.
Officials accused the union of refusing further meetings over the weekend, a claim ASUU has yet to respond to publicly.
The strike has once again left thousands of students uncertain about their academic schedules, raising fears of another prolonged disruption in Nigeria’s public university system.
