The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) says there is still no progress in its talks with the Federal Government, raising fresh fears of another strike.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, told reporters on Tuesday that despite pressure from students, parents, and lecturers, the government has made “no concrete move” to resolve the issues. “As it stands, there is no update. Nothing has changed,” he said.
The Abuja Zonal Coordinator of ASUU, Prof. Al-Amin Abdullahi, also voiced frustration, saying members are losing patience with the Tinubu administration. He hinted that a strike could be imminent if the government continues to ignore their demands.
“The NEC of ASUU will meet soon and decide the next level of action. Our members are fed up with the passivity of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. The topmost demand remains the implementation of the Alhaji Yayale Ahmed report submitted in February this year. As it is, our members’ eyes are on strike, the only language the FG understands,” Abdullahi said.
The crisis has dragged on for over a decade, rooted in the unfulfilled 2009 ASUU-FG Agreement, which covers university funding, lecturers’ welfare, revitalisation of public universities, and payment of earned allowances. Another major dispute is the government’s insistence on using the Integrated Personnel and Payroll Information System (IPPIS) for salary payment, which ASUU rejects. The union insists its homegrown system, UTAS, is better suited for universities.
ASUU’s last strike in 2022 lasted eight months, shutting down public universities across Nigeria and leaving millions of students stranded. It was suspended only after a court order and government promises that are yet to be fulfilled.
Although President Tinubu’s administration has repeatedly pledged to settle the matter “once and for all,” the lecturers say they are yet to see any real action.
