The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has issued a stark warning to the Federal and State Governments: meet our demands, or face a total, immediate shutdown of public universities across Nigeria.
In a statement released on Friday following an emergency meeting of its National Executive Council at the University of Abuja, ASUU President Christopher Piwuna declared that the union is prepared to reactivate a nationwide strike “without any further notice.”
The ultimatum stems from the government’s continued failure to fully implement the landmark December 2025 agreement. The union emphasized that this agreement was not a recent concession, but the hard-won culmination of more than eight years of intense negotiations and struggle.
Beyond the stalled agreement, a major flashpoint is the non-remittance of billions of naira that have been deducted from lecturers’ salaries over time. For the academic staff, this is not merely a bureaucratic oversight, but a direct and ongoing threat to their livelihood and professional welfare.
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“Unless immediate and concrete steps are taken to fully and comprehensively address issues bordering on the welfare and well-being of Nigerian academics, ASUU-NEC will not accept any blame for calling out its members on a nationwide strike action within the shortest time possible,” Piwuna warned.
The threat casts a dark shadow over the current academic session, raising the specter of prolonged closures that have historically derailed the educational timelines of countless Nigerian youths. For ASUU, the message is clear: the era of endless, fruitless negotiations is over. For the government, the clock is ticking to prevent another generation of students from being left in the lurch.
Promise Idoko is Junior Reporter working with moderncrux He covers global politics and international affairs. Based in Nigeria,
