Explainer: Why Are ASUU and the FGN At Loggerheads Again?

Academic activities were grounded across several public universities nationwide on Monday as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) began its two-week warning strike to press home its demands to the Federal Government of Nigeria (FGN). The move, announced on Sunday by ASUU’s National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, follows the collapse of yet another round of talks with the FGN. ASUU says the strike goes beyond a demand for owed salaries and cites the government’s refusal to honour commitments dating back to the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, which promised better funding, improved working conditions, and genuine university autonomy. 

Minister of Education Tunji Alausa claims that the Tinubu administration is already “in the final phase” of resolving the dispute, pointing to ₦50 billion released for Earned Academic Allowances and ₦150 billion captured in the 2025 budget for “needs assessment.”

Yet, the same minister on Monday ordered the National Universities Commission and vice-chancellors to enforce a “no work, no pay” policy. He directed universities to conduct roll calls, identify lecturers participating in the strike, and withhold their salaries. Members of rival unions – the Congress of University Academics (CONUA) and the National Association of Medical and Dental Academics (NAMDA) – were exempted from the sanction, a move that appears contrived to divide academics and weaken ASUU’s influence.

The Contentious 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement

At the heart of this recurring crisis lies the 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement, a comprehensive framework meant to reverse decades of neglect in higher education. It established a distinct salary structure (CONUASS II), expanded research and housing allowances, extended retirement age for professors, and reaffirmed university autonomy. The deal also envisioned diversified funding to reduce reliance on federal allocations. However, ASUU argues that this agreement is yet to be fully implemented. 

The Nigerian Working Class Refuses To Be Intimidated 

ASUU National President, Piwuna brushed off the threat, stating firmly that ASUU “does not respond to intimidation,” adding that the union and its members see themselves as victims, “just like the students.” He accused the government of deploying old tactics instead of addressing the roots of the crisis: chronic underfunding and broken promises.

At Ahmadu Bello University, ASUU branch chairman Haruna Jibril echoed similar sentiments. “We’ve been through this before,” he said. “During the last strike, we went eight months without pay. Some of our members haven’t received salaries for over 30 months because of IPPIS issues. Even our current pay can’t cover basic needs.”

The Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) has declared its full support for ASUU. NLC President Joe Ajaero criticised the government’s position as “an act of intimidation” that will do nothing to resolve the crisis. He warned that if the government fails to meet ASUU’s demands within the two-week window, labour would mobilise nationwide in solidarity. “The struggle of ASUU,” Ajaero said, “is the struggle of the Nigerian working class.”

In truth, this dispute is less about two weeks of lost lectures and more about decades of broken trust. The same fault lines have defined every ASUU strike since 1999: unfulfilled agreements, withheld salaries, and a government that treats education as an afterthought. 

Each time the cycle repeats, students lose semesters, lecturers lose morale, and public universities lose credibility. As the NLC’s warning suggests, this standoff could escalate if the government fails to act decisively. And as always, it is ordinary students – waiting at home again – who bear the cost of a system perpetually at war with itself.