ASUU Strike: Lecturers Shut Down Campuses in Two-Week Warning

Academic activities have been effectively halted across most of Nigeria’s public universities as the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) commenced its total and comprehensive two-week warning strike on Monday.

The strike, which followed the expiration of an ultimatum to the Federal Government, has immediately disrupted ongoing semester examinations and lecturing, marking a renewed crisis in the university system after negotiations failed to bridge the gap between the union and the government.

Dependable NG reports that the renewed industrial action was triggered after ASUU officials walked out of a meeting, stating that the government presented a document “totally alien to issues discussed at plenary,” particularly regarding the condition of service for lecturers.

The union’s demands, as stated by ASUU President Christopher Piwuna, include the conclusion and implementation of the renegotiated 2009 FGN/ASUU Agreement (based on the Nimi Briggs Committee’s Draft of 2021), the release of three-and-a-half months’ withheld salaries from the 2022 strike, and the payment of outstanding allowances like the 25 per cent – 35 per cent salary award arrears.

There was total compliance across federal and state universities, with reports confirming that ASUU officials at institutions like Nasarawa State University, Keffi, actively moved to compel students out of examination halls. While some institutions like Bayero University Kano narrowly escaped the disruption by concluding their exams, students at others, like the Moses Adasu University, Makurdi, expressed deep frustration. Student Joseph Adoyi lamented that the continuous actions mean “students propose, ASUU disposes.”

In response, the Federal Government, through the Minister of Education, Dr. Tunji Alausa, has already issued a circular dated October 13, 2025, directing the Vice-Chancellors of all federal universities to immediately enforce the “No Work, No Pay” policy against the striking lecturers.

Despite the government’s firm stance and threat, ASUU President Piwuna reaffirmed the union’s readiness for dialogue on Monday, stating he had received calls from both the Chairman of the Federal Government Team, Alhaji Yayale Ahmed, and the Minister of State for Labour, showing a willingness to resolve the matter. “ASUU is willing. We are ready and available to discuss this matter once and for all,” Piwuna stated.