A little too late…ASUU says FG’s move to halt impending strike a futile attempt

9.10.2025
The Academic Staff Union of Universities said it would embark on a warning strike as planned unless the Federal Government comes up with something concrete.
ASUU president Professor Chris Pinuwa speaking on Channels TV’s Morning Brief Thursday, said that government attempt to persuade them to shelve the industrial action without honouring its previous commitments is coming “a little too late.”
“The problem we have with this government and this Ministry of Education is that they are slow in responding to our demands,” Piwuna said.
“We went for a meeting in Sokoto, and at that time we were about to embark on a strike action,” he explained.
“They gave us three weeks, we accepted the three weeks, but we never heard a word from them until the three weeks elapsed, not a word from them, courtesy to even say, ‘Oh gentlemen, we think we are running short, three weeks is around the corner, we are unable to meet with you on so-and-so date.’ Nothing, until we threatened action.”
According to Piwuna, it was only two working days before the proposed strike that the government reached out to appeal for suspension of the planned action.
“Yesterday, they appealed to us not to embark on action. Our 2009 agreement, which is still being renegotiated after eight years, remains undone. We have not concluded on it, and two working days before a strike action, you come to appeal to us. I think the appeal has come a little too late,” he said.
The ASUU President maintained that the union’s members would proceed with their planned warning strike once the current ultimatum expires on Sunday unless the government presents tangible solutions.
“Their ultimatum expires on Sunday, and after that, there will be a warning strike unless something substantial comes out from the government,” Piwuna warned.
“So, in the next 48 hours, we expect to receive something substantial from the government. Then, we can go back to our members and ask, ‘Do you think this is sufficient for us to hold on?’ and we will do what our members ask us to do.”
ASUU had earlier directed its branches across the country to prepare for a two-week warning strike expected to commence on October 13.
The latest standoff between the union and the Federal Government adds to a long list of disputes over university funding, lecturers’ welfare, and the still-unresolved 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
Meanwhile, the Minister of Education, Dr Tunji Alausa, said on Wednesday that the government had entered the final stage of talks with ASUU and other university unions to find a lasting solution to the lingering crisis in the country’s tertiary education system.