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The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has announced a two-week comprehensive strike beginning Monday, 13 October 2025, following the expiration of its ultimatum to the Federal Government to address lingering issues affecting Nigeria’s public universities.
The ASUU President, Professor Chris Piwuna, made the announcement on Sunday during a press conference at the University of Abuja, marking the union’s first nationwide strike since 2022 and the first under President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
“Consequently, all branches of ASUU are hereby directed to withdraw their services with effect from midnight on Monday, 13 October 2025,”
Prof. Piwuna said.
“The warning strike shall be total and comprehensive. There is nothing sufficient to stop the implementation of ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on the strike.”
ASUU had earlier issued a two-week ultimatum to the government, warning that a strike would be inevitable if its demands were not met. However, by the end of the deadline, the union said no meaningful progress had been made.
“It is regrettable to note that nothing significant has happened to change the position of NEC since we last briefed the press,” Piwuna lamented.
This strike revives a long-standing dispute that dates back to the 2009 FGN–ASUU Agreement, which has remained largely unimplemented.
The 2009 agreement covered improved conditions of service, university autonomy, and revitalisation funding, but successive governments have failed to honour its provisions.
Among ASUU’s demands are:
ASUU has also rejected the Integrated Personnel Payroll Information System (IPPIS), which it says undermines university autonomy and violates the spirit of the 2009 accord.
In August, the Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, inaugurated a committee led by Permanent Secretary Abel Enitan to review the draft agreement produced by the Yayale Ahmed-led renegotiation committee. That committee submitted its report in February 2025.
On Tuesday, the government reconstituted and inaugurated yet another committee the Federal Government Tertiary Institutions Expanded Negotiation Committee, also chaired by Yayale Ahmed, to accelerate talks with ASUU and other tertiary unions.
However, ASUU said the government’s latest effort fell short.
“An emergency meeting held with the committee on Friday, 10 October, was nothing to write home about,”
Piwuna said.
“The presentation to the ASUU team was a total departure from the letter and spirit of the ‘Review of the Draft 2022 Agreement’ submitted by the Yayale Ahmed committee. To say the least, the documents were neither here nor there.”
The newly formed committee marks at least the sixth government panel created to renegotiate the 2009 agreement. Previous committees include:
For over 14 years, the key demands for funding, salaries, autonomy, and implementation timelines have remained unresolved, leading to repeated strikes that have disrupted Nigeria’s academic calendar.
Minister Alausa previously said President Tinubu had directed his ministry to ensure ASUU “never embarks on a strike again.” Despite this, the failure of dialogue has now led to another shutdown of academic activities in federal and state universities.
The ministry has not yet issued an official statement in response to ASUU’s announcement, but sources indicate efforts may continue to persuade the union to suspend its action.
ASUU’s last major strike, which lasted eight months (February to October 2022), was suspended only after an Industrial Court ordered lecturers back to work following a lawsuit filed by then Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige.
That industrial action caused massive disruptions, leading to loss of academic sessions and student protests nationwide, a situation many stakeholders fear could recur if the current impasse persists.
The current strike is a two-week warning strike, but ASUU has not ruled out a total, indefinite action if the government fails to meet its key demands within that period.
University students across the country are expected to vacate campuses starting Monday.
“We have waited long enough,” Piwuna declared. “It is time to make the government take our issues seriously.”
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