Varsities Shut Down As ASUU Declares Two-Week Total Strike — FG Warns Of ‘No Work, No Pay’

By ‘Seun Ibukun-Oni

DAILY COURIER – The Academic Staff Union of Universities, ASUU, has declared a two-week total and comprehensive warning strike, halting academic activities across all public universities in Nigeria. The industrial action, which begins at midnight on Monday, October 13, 2025, follows the expiration of a 14-day ultimatum earlier issued to the Federal Government.

ASUU National President, Professor Chris Piwuna, announced the strike during a press briefing on Sunday at the University of Abuja, lamenting the government’s failure to address critical issues affecting the nation’s tertiary institutions. He said the union had exercised patience, but no meaningful progress had been made to avert the action.

“The 14-day notice we issued on September 28 has lapsed without any tangible response from the relevant authorities,” Piwuna stated. “Consequently, all ASUU branches across the country have been directed to commence a full withdrawal of services.”

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The declaration came despite last-minute appeals from the Federal Government, which had urged the union to reconsider its stance. The Minister of Education, Tunji Alausa, speaking at a press conference in Abuja last week, said the government was already working to resolve all outstanding issues through a reconstituted negotiation committee led by Mahmud Yayale Ahmed.

Alausa explained that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu had directed the ministry to ensure that no further disruption occurs in the academic calendar, stressing that dialogue remains the most effective tool for conflict resolution. The minister added that progress was being made in talks with both academic and non-academic unions across tertiary institutions.

However, ASUU rejected the government’s appeal, insisting that it came too late. Professor Piwuna, while speaking on a Channels Television programme, faulted the government’s slow response, accusing it of waiting until two working days before the strike to react.

“We gave them three weeks after our meeting in Sokoto, but there was no communication whatsoever until we threatened action,” he said. “Our 2009 agreement has been under renegotiation for eight years without conclusion. It is unfortunate that government only remembers us when we threaten a strike.”

In a swift response on Sunday night, the Federal Ministry of Education warned that it would invoke the “no work, no pay” policy if ASUU proceeded with the strike. In a statement signed by the ministry’s spokesperson, Folasade Boriowo, the government accused the union of being uncooperative despite ongoing efforts to address their concerns.

“The government continues to prioritise the welfare of university staff and the stability of the academic calendar under the Renewed Hope Agenda,” the statement read. “While we remain open to dialogue, the no-work-no-pay policy remains an extant labour law, and the government will be guided by it if academic activities are disrupted.”

The government reassured students and parents that it remained committed to maintaining industrial harmony, adding that the ongoing education reform agenda was aimed at improving teaching conditions, research, and institutional autonomy.

ASUU’s latest strike marks a renewed confrontation between the union and the Federal Government over unresolved issues that have plagued Nigeria’s university system for over a decade. Among the union’s demands are the conclusion of the renegotiated 2009 FGN-ASUU agreement, the release of withheld three and a half months’ salaries, revitalisation of public universities, and an end to the victimisation of lecturers in LASU, FUTO, and Prince Abubakar Audu University.

Other demands include the payment of outstanding 25–35 percent salary arrears, promotion arrears for over four years, and release of withheld third-party deductions, including cooperative contributions and union dues.

Meanwhile, on several campuses nationwide, students have begun packing out of hostels following directives from local ASUU chapters to suspend all academic engagements. At the University of Lagos, University of Ibadan, and Ahmadu Bello University, lecture halls were deserted by midday Sunday as uncertainty gripped the student population.

Analysts warn that the strike, if not resolved quickly, could again derail the academic calendar, frustrate students, and further erode confidence in Nigeria’s public university system. Many fear that the recurring disputes between ASUU and the government may push more parents toward private or foreign universities.

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Despite the tension, both parties appear to be standing their ground. While ASUU insists that the strike is a “warning shot” to compel government action, the Ministry of Education maintains that continued defiance would trigger the no-work-no-pay rule.

For now, Nigeria’s university campuses are silent and millions of students are caught once more in the crossfire of an unending battle over funding, welfare, and respect for agreements long overdue.