Academic activities were paralysed across Nigeria on Monday as lecturers under the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) fully complied with a two-week warning strike, disrupting lectures and examinations in most public universities.
The industrial action followed the expiration of an ultimatum issued to the Federal Government after failed negotiations over unpaid salaries, welfare concerns, and the long-standing 2009 ASUU-FGN Agreement.
The government had earlier announced a number of interventions, including a ₦50 billion release for Earned Academic Allowances and an additional ₦150 billion allocation in the 2025 budget for the revitalisation of public universities. However, ASUU said the proposal presented during their last meeting was “totally alien” to previous agreements, particularly regarding lecturers’ conditions of service.
ASUU President, Prof. Chris Piwuna, listed the union’s demands to include the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 Agreement based on the Nimi Briggs draft of 2021, payment of withheld salaries, and release of third-party deductions such as pension and cooperative contributions. The union is also pushing for outstanding salary arrears, revitalisation funds, and the exclusion of lecturers on sabbatical or part-time appointments from IPPIS restrictions.
“Any violation of this strike action will be met with severe sanctions,” ASUU had warned its members in a statement released on Sunday.
From Makurdi to Nsukka, Benin, Jos, Dutse, and Keffi, campuses were virtually deserted as lecturers withdrew from classes and students vacated examination halls.
At Moses Adasu University, Makurdi, lecture halls were empty by noon, with only a few students wandering around. Similar reports came from Nasarawa State University, Keffi, where ASUU officials reportedly moved from hall to hall enforcing compliance.
A 200-level student, Joseph Adoyi, expressed frustration:
“I thought I’d be in 300 level by now, but in Nigerian universities, students propose, ASUU disposes. We just hope the strike really lasts two weeks.”
Another student from the Federal University Dutse, Mary Ajegba, lamented the repeated disruptions to her academic journey:
“If not for these strikes, I’d be a corps member by now. They say it’s two weeks, but experience has taught us otherwise.”
Despite the nationwide shutdown, ASUU President, Prof. Piwuna, said the union is open to renewed negotiations with the Federal Government.
“Today, I received a call from Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, Chairman of the Federal Government Team, and he’s eager to resume talks with us. ASUU is willing and ready to discuss this matter once and for all,” he told Channels TV on Monday.
Meanwhile, the Federal Government has directed vice-chancellors of all federal universities to immediately enforce the ‘No Work, No Pay’ policy, halting salaries of striking lecturers.
The directive, contained in a circular signed by Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, was copied to the Head of Service, Accountant-General, and National Universities Commission (NUC).
As the two-week warning strike enters its early days, uncertainty looms over whether the deadlock will be resolved or escalate into another prolonged shutdown of Nigeria’s university system.
