By our Reporter
The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has warned of an impending industrial crisis in Nigeria’s public universities, urging the Federal and State Governments to urgently address long-standing labour disputes.
In a statement signed by its president, Christopher Piwuna, ASUU cited poor welfare, inadequate funding, and the government’s failure to honour agreements as key sources of frustration.
The warning followed recent remarks by the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, who vowed that tertiary institutions would “never again” go on strike, promising dialogue and fulfilment of demands. While welcoming the sentiment, ASUU insisted that “action must follow words” to resolve lingering issues.
The union described the harsh realities faced by lecturers, including teaching “on empty stomachs,” conducting research without access to journals, books, chemicals, or reagents, and struggling with unpaid bills, transport costs, and school fees. Piwuna lamented that universities are blamed for producing unemployable graduates despite these challenges, leaving lecturers “forgotten, shamed, and demoralised.”
ASUU criticised the government’s handling of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU Agreement, accusing officials of cherry-picking terms and offering “platitudes and tokenism” instead of genuine solutions.
On governance, the union decried political interference in vice-chancellor appointments, citing the case of the Acting Vice Chancellor of Alvan Ikoku University of Education, whose promotion process it described as “fraught with contradictions.”
Calling on stakeholders to act, ASUU said lecturers are tired of repeated Memoranda of Understanding and Action (2013, 2017, 2019, 2020) and the protracted renegotiation of the 2009 Agreement, ongoing for over eight years.
“No memorandum or discussion can replace a Collective Bargaining Agreement that fully addresses staff welfare and a conducive academic environment,” the statement read. “The time to act is now.”
