The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has officially declared a two-week nationwide warning strike, effective from midnight on Monday, 13th October 2025, in a renewed effort to compel the Federal Government to address their long-unresolved demands. Professor Chris Piwuna, the President of ASUU, announced the decision at a news conference in Abuja on Sunday, directing all union members across the country to immediately withdraw their services.This action follows the expiration of a two-week ultimatum previously issued by the Union to the government to resolve the critical and persistent issues plaguing the public university system.
Professor Piwuna noted that the recent meeting held with the government’s negotiating team on Friday was entirely unproductive, yielding no tangible results that could warrant shelving the planned industrial action. He categorically stated that the proposals put forward by the government were insufficient to prevent the scheduled strike. “It goes without saying that there is nothing sufficient on ground to stop the implementation of ASUU-NEC’s resolution to embark on a two-week warning strike at the expiry of the 14 days notice,” the ASUU President declared, underscoring the Union’s firm resolve.
The warning strike has been declared as both “total and comprehensive,” reflecting the consensus reached at the last National Executive Council (NEC) meeting of the Union. ASUU’s primary demands encompass the urgent conclusion of the re-negotiation of the 2009 ASUU-FGN agreement, ensuring sustainable funding for the revitalisation of Nigerian public universities, and ending the alleged victimisation of its members at various institutions. The universities specifically named are Lagos State University (LASU), Prince Abubakar Audu University (formerly Kogi State University), and the Federal University of Technology, Owerri (FUTO), amongst others where lecturers are facing challenges.
This industrial action proceeds despite a direct appeal from the Federal Government to the Union, urging them to drop the strike plan over the unmet demands. The Minister of Education, Dr Olatunji Alausa, had reportedly acknowledged that the core issues had been lingering for over 15 years and had assured of ongoing negotiations to address the concerns.However, ASUU’s leadership found the government’s response and offer inadequate and lacking in genuine commitment to resolve the fundamental problems of poor university funding and lecturers’ welfare.
The Union remains resolute, with Professor Piwuna warning that if the government fails to take concrete steps towards meeting their demands during the two-week period, the union’s next action will be a complete and indefinite strike. This renewed conflict between the academics and the government introduces another cycle of uncertainty for students and parents, raising concerns about the continued stability of the academic calendar and the future of public university education in the country.
